LeBron James, in an effort to get his teammates to jell quickly for an NBA championship run, has organized workouts for the Lakers next month in Las Vegas that every player plans on attending, according to several people who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The sessions will be at Impact Basketball and are scheduled for Sept. 22-26. Each training session will last about 2 1/2 hours. The players will stay at the Wynn, and each is paying his own way.
With eight new players on the Lakers’ roster, James wanted to get together early because of a condensed training camp that includes a trip to China. James hopes they get to know one another’s games in a closed environment in preparation for training camp and a rigorous 82-game schedule . After the practices, they will have team dinners.
The Lakers will return to Los Angeles on Sept. 26 to prepare for the team’s media day, which is set for Sept. 27 at the practice facility in El Segundo.
The Lakers then begin training camp Sept. 28 and play their first exhibition game on Oct. 5 against Golden State in the Warriors’ new arena, the Chase Center, in San Francisco.
The Lakers return home after that game before they depart for two games in China against the Brooklyn Nets — Oct. 10 in Shanghai and Oct. 12 in Shenzhen.
After the Lakers return to Los Angeles, they will play the Warriors twice at Staples Center, on Oct. 14 and 16, before the teams meet one last time in the preseason on Oct. 18 at the Chase Center.
The Lakers are tentatively scheduled to play the Clippers in the NBA regular-season opener for both teams on Oct. 22.
The King Holding Court