The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t made any moves, either in free agency or via trade, to add any outside players this summer, at least so far. It has greatly disappointed many of their fans and led those fans to criticize general manager Rob Pelinka once again.
LeBron James was apparently hoping the team would make some sort of upgrade, and he was reportedly even willing to take a pay cut to help make that happen. But on Saturday, he went ahead and signed a new two-year contract while taking just a hair less than the maximum amount of money allowed.
As he prepares to represent the United States in the upcoming Summer Olympics, he talked about his mindset amidst the Lakers’ disappointing offseason (h/t Lakers Daily).
LeBron James on the Lakers not making any off-season trades yet and his expectations on if the team stays as pic.twitter.com/8JGdQOnvos
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) July 6, 2024
“As it stands for me right now personally, my only mindset is to come back and be ready to go to work every single day no matter who’s there,” said James. “That’s just me, I’ve always been that. That’s not that far away obviously, but when it gets to that point, my jersey goes on, my shorts go on the same way and my work ethic never changes so I look forward to that when it happens.”
James was then asked what his expectations would be for the Lakers if their roster remains the same heading into training camp.
“My expectations (are) for us to go to work every day, try to get better every day and push each other every day,” James said. “Me as a captain, A.D. (Anthony Davis) as a captain, we gotta hold everybody accountable from a player standpoint. We’re comin’ in with a new system, so we have to learn the system and see what Coach [J.J.] Redick and the rest of the coachin’ staff want us to do and then go from there.”
The truth is, the Lakers are a good team and a definite playoff team if they stay relatively healthy again. But they’re not a championship-caliber team, and for James to have a real shot at his fifth NBA championship, some changes will need to be made soon enough.
