Whenever LeBron James winds up looking Kawhi Leonard in the eyes again – either at the Lakers free agency meeting on Sunday or Monday in Los Angeles or perhaps some sort of side session at the James family’s home in nearby Brentwood soon thereafter – he’ll steer clear of the dirty free agency politics.
The Lakers star won’t waste time telling the two-time Finals MVP why it could be a bad idea to sign with the crosstown Clippers, whose business and basketball brand still pales in comparison to the storied purple and gold. He won’t dissect the Toronto Raptors in any kind of unseemly way, even if there’s a conversation to be had about whether the reigning champions can remain among the elite for the long term. Nor will he bother to break down the Knicks, who are still harboring hopes of pulling off the longest of long shots with Leonard.
No, this high-level hoops discussion that could lead to the formation of the league’s next Super Team will be far more positive and introspective than that. James, the 34-year-old who knows full well how Leonard’s arrival would send shockwaves through the league’s landscape, will make it abundantly clear that he’s ready to start sacrificing again.
Only this time, with Anthony Davis already in tow and the wounded Golden State Warriors in everyone’s rearview for now, that means the prospect of him taking even more of a complementary role than ever before. If Leonard wants to come their way, to leave a title team behind in order to form the kind of trio that this league has never seen, then he can expect a level of deference from LeBron that we haven’t seen since his Miami days. And then some.
Of all the times when LeBron has shown a willingness to share the spotlight, to walk that fine line between deferring and dominating in the kind of way that empowers those around him, none are more informative than that first season with the Heat in 2010-11. It was Dwyane Wade’s team and Dwyane Wade’s city, and so it was that LeBron went to great lengths to make sure his close friend felt as if he was respecting his resume’ and his well-earned reputation.
James took fewer shots than ever, while Wade and Chris Bosh saw dips in their personal production too. This was all part of their plan, the kind of thing that – after that stumble against Dallas in the 2011 Finals which so many believed was a product of James yielding too much – was all worth it when they raised the Larry O’Brien trophy up in 2012 and 2013.
When the
news broke on Thursday that James had decided to give his No. 23 jersey number to Davis, and that he would return to the No. 6 he sported during those four Miami seasons, those who know him best were quick to point out this pivotal parallel. If ever there was a crystal-clear sign that James is ready to return to that ‘Heatles’ mindset, and to give up even more ground than before to his co-stars because he knows full well that Father Time just keeps coming, this was it.
LeBron knows that this is the only way this can work, with him convincing fellow stars like Davis and (he hopes) Leonard that he’s fully ready to put them and their talents above his own. The jersey gesture was an early way of sending that message to Davis, who is expected to make a sacrifice of his own by waiving his $4 million trade kicker from the forthcoming New Orleans deal as a way to help the Lakers open up enough money for another max player. And now, with Davis’ desire to join James chipping away at the idea that
his peers don’t want to play with him, he’ll try to make Leonard feel welcome too.
Want him to be the third option, a playmaker who breathes a new and different life into their games while making sure there’s enough oxygen in the locker room for everyone? Consider it done. Want him to use that third eye on the floor to make Leonard’s and Davis’ jobs that much easier? He’d love to.
After the disastrous debut season of LeBron in Laker Land, where he missed a career-high 27 games (18 because of a groin strain) and missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2005 after EIGHT consecutive Finals appearances, he has no illusions about the height of the stakes here or the part that he needs and wants to play. And according to a source close to James, it’s this focus on being an incredible teammate that will be at the center of his message to Leonard.
He’ll make it clear that he’s truly willing to tailor his talents around theirs. He might dispel this notion that all the recent Lakers nonsense is their never-ending norm. He’ll candidly discuss the truth about the point he has reached in his legendary career, how his age and all those
meaningful miles mean that Leonard and Davis could have the keys to this Lakers kingdom long after his playing days are done.
Considering Leonard’s well-known desire to return to his native Southern California, and that none of his other known suitors can boast the prospect of having even one superstar already in place. It’s that last part that could surely get Leonard’s attention.
Even before Lakers owner Jeanie Buss might chime in about all the perks that come with the Lakers’ marketing machine, how their massive fanbase tends to fill the pockets of Lakers players through business partnerships and the like, Leonard has to ask himself where else he can settle in with two future Hall of Famers during his prime. All of those factors, not surprisingly, have led to a recent upsurge in cautious optimism inside James’ circle that they could have a real chance here.
The timing of all these talks, meanwhile, remains unclear. A second source with knowledge of the situation told
The Athletic on Friday that James and Davis were both planning on taking part in the expected meeting with Leonard. But earlier in the day, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported that Leonard’s uncle and right-hand man, Dennis Robertson, had requested that the Lakers meeting only include Jeanie and former Lakers executive Magic Johnson. And yes, for anyone understandably confused by that previous sentence, that’s the same Magic Johnson who abruptly resigned on April 9 and proceeded to
gaslight Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and the organization at large during a television interview with Stephen A. some five weeks later.
But the notion of Johnson taking part was quickly extinguished – at least when it comes to formal meetings. As our Lakers beat writer, Bill Oram, reported, Johnson’s Lakers exit included
an “understanding” between him, the Lakers and the NBA that he would not be allowed to take part in the team’s recruiting visits.
So less than a year after Magic had that late-night meeting at LeBron’s house that helped bring him to town, where does that leave the Lakers in their pursuit of Leonard? With LeBron – his messaging clear and his methodology in place – hoping he can play the part of closer this time.
(Top photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
