Since the Magic Johnson-Luke Walton report surfaced, many have been wondering what LeBron James thought of their meeting. Labeled as a ‘coach killer’ throughout his career, the reality is the best player in the game today will impact the decision-making process for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Prior to facing the Portland Trail Blazers, the 33-year-old said he is not paying attention to these reports following shootaround.
Instead, James likes the team’s progress since the 2018-19 NBA season opener against the Blazers, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“We’re still in the real early stages,” James said. “But we are much more of a unit today than we were two weeks ago. So I think we’ll be even better two weeks from now, and two weeks from then. I think every game, every road trip, every film session, every day that we’re together is going to continue to get us more and more familiar with one another. You just have to learn each other and know what to expect out of one another, how to challenge each other.”
For James, he understands what he got himself into when he signed with the Lakers in free agency. With all of his previous teams getting off to slow starts, the team’s sub-.500 record was expected and it is a matter of building chemistry on- and off-the-court.
Unlike his previous stops with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, there may be pressure to win games now to keep up in the Western Conference. With all of their rotation players healthy or back from suspension, the Lakers will be looking to establish consistency.
