LeBron James and His New Look Lakers

Surrounded by an intriguing cast of young players and a sprinkling of veterans, LeBron James’ new look Lakers seem poised for what could be a launching pad of a season.

Don’t look now, but LeBron James is taking his talents out west this time and there’s no team in the league as intriguing as his Lakers. Here’s what to watch out for as the King takes over his glitziest court yet.

The Supporting Cast

Uncertainty swirls around the Lakers’ upcoming season, but there’s one thing we can say for sure: LeBron has landed in a very different situation than in either Miami or Cleveland. The days of being surrounded by specialists and seasoned veterans are gone. During the long haul of the 2018-19 season, James will take the floor each night with a supporting cast that’s among the youngest he’s played with in many years.

Outside of James, the key to the Lakers’ improvement is second-year point guard Lonzo Ball. The reshaping of the roster doesn’t just end with LeBron either. The Lakers hope to improve on last year’s dismal offensive performance with newcomers like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson, and Michael Beasley. JaVale McGee also figures to log his fair share of minutes, especially when the Lakers need offensive rebounding or rim protection.

Add the new faces to last year’s nucleus of Brandon Ingram, Ball and Kyle Kuzma, and you have a fascinating team that has a decent chance at one of the top four seeds in the West.

Lonzo Ball’s Newly Repaired Knee

All eyes might be on the King as the Lakers open training camp, but much of their early season narrative hinges on the stability Lonzo Ball’s left knee. Just last July, Ball had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the knee, so it’s unclear how much he’ll be able to contribute in the early part of the season. For now, Rondo has been named as the team’s starting point guard.

Lakers’ GM Magic Johnson says Ball’s health is progressing nicely. He’s also been impressed with Ball’s revamped shooting form. Lakers’ coaches plan to ease Ball back in slowly, but it’s a ‘sooner the better’ scenario. Sure, LeBron can win a dozen games all by himself, but he needs a another Kyrie Irving type talent to catapult the Lakers back into the NBA’s upper echelon.

However long it takes him to return to form, the Lakers will need Ball at the top of his game as the season progresses. In fact, they’ll actually need more than what they got last season from their 20-year-old phenom of a point guard. Though dominant at times, Ball lost 30 games to injury last season and experienced terrible shooting woes as well. If he stays injury free, Lakers’ fans might witness a quick and miraculous turnaround. And then, LaVar will start talking again.

Lebron James the Producer

In early September, NBC announced that it had committed to a pair of shows produced by James’ SpringHill Entertainment. These two shows are just the latest in a long list of SpringHill productions, that also include ‘Space Jam 2’ that he will star in. Clearly James seems to be readying himself for life after the NBA. A move that seems to have been in the works for quite some time.

• producing a new docuseries, Shut Up and Dribble, for Showtime
• Warner Bros Space Jam 2
• HBO Partner for Unscripted Series ‘The Shop’
• LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s SpringHill Entertainment and Channing Tatum are teaming to produce Public Enemy, an action comedy
• Working on a remake of the New Line Cinema cult classic ‘House Party’
• Student Athlete, an HBO documentary that will look at “the harsh reality of what it means to be a ‘student athlete’ in a billion-dollar industry.
• Octavia Spencer, LeBron James Limited Series About Madam C.J. Walker Lands at Netflix
• YouTube Red docu-series ‘Best Shot‘ with former NBA star Jay Williams

James’ involvement with SpringHill Entertainment should cool down now that training camp has started. He’s known for his laser focus, and has a lot of educating ahead of him with this young but talented roster. Although there will certainly be some growing pains, James’ long-range plan seems to be sound. This new Lakers squad might need the Warriors to come back to earth before they can reach the Finals, but several key pieces are already in place. However things play out, the Lakers promise to put on a good who and be near the center of the NBA universe all season long.