The lakers of The Angels they expect Lebron James decide to continue with his career, once he recovers from the bitter end of his season.
James did not speak to the press a day after the leading scorer in league history nba He mentioned that he needs time to decide on his future in basketball. The comment came immediately after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the Western Conference finals.
The 38-year-old basket player has been absent in previous years from the team’s farewell interviews, once his season ended. However, the decision he made on Tuesday leaves Lakers fans in suspense about his intentions, following his enigmatic comments after the four-game sweep of the Denver Nuggets.
General manager Rob Pelinka and coach Darvin Ham said they will talk to James about his future soon.
“We all know that James speaks for himself, and we look forward to having those conversations when the time is right,” Pelinka said. “LeBron gave more to basketball than anyone who has ever played. When you do that you deserve the right to decide if you are going to give more… Obviously our desire is for his career to continue, but we want to give him that time for him to have that turning point and support him on that path ”.
Despite James’ 40 points, including a postseason career-high 31 in the first half, the seventh-seeded Lakers were swept by the first-seeded Denver Nuggets with a 113-11 loss in Game 4. Monday night.
This put an end to James’ aspirations, to reach his fifth title in 20 seasons in the NBA.
Ham quipped: “Coming off a loss like that, and the work we’ve put in this season, I think I was ready to retire last night as well.”
Pelinka and Ham declined to speculate on whether the cause of James’ frustration was a persistent foot injury that may require surgery to fully correct. He missed a month down the stretch of the regular season, but returned to his usual heavy workload leading up to the postseason.
The Lakers said they understand why James would be hesitant about his future after an outstanding performance in the loss.
Pelinka said he hopes to keep much of the team’s core around James and Anthony Davis, calling roster continuity a “high priority” after several years of significant change.
James will earn $46.9 million in the first season of his two-year, $97 million contract extension, however several of the top contributors to the team’s playoff standings will become free agents.
“We are not going to rest on our laurels,” Pelinka said. “Even if there is an opportunity to improve, we will always look there, but we have a base that has been highly successful, and that’s a good start.”
