No matter how bad things get for the Lakers—and they’re already plenty bad—LeBron James vows to keep playing.
Los Angeles (30-34) dropped its third in a row Monday night, putting it five and a half games out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference, but James says he will not sit out as long as he remains healthy.
LeBron adds that a conversation with the Lakers’ coaching staff and upper management about shutting it down may “happen soon.”
Per ESPN:
“That would take a lot of convincing from Luke [Walton] on up,” James told ESPN, referring to the Lakers coach as well as, most likely, everyone from general manager Rob Pelinka, to president Magic Johnson, to governor Jeanie Buss. “Unless I’m hurt, I’m not sitting games.”
Thus far, no one from the Lakers has approached James about sitting out games to preserve his body, or improve their draft lottery odds.
“That conversation hasn’t occurred, but I’m sure it can happen soon,” James told ESPN.
After his 27 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in 42 minutes went to waste against the Clippers, James admitted that monitoring his playing time — if not resting completely — is a possibility moving forward.
“You kind of look at the rest of the games, and look at the percentages of what’s going on there in the future, and see what makes more sense for not only me but the team itself as well,” James said.
Related Kyle Kuzma: ‘Obviously There’s Something Wrong With This Team’
