Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors will surprise some people, as LeBron James will see his playing time reduced the remainder of the season.
Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors will shock some people. After the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, their record dropped to 30-35.
Los Angeles now sits 6.5 games out of the playoffs in the Western Conference. With less than a one percent chance to make the playoffs, the Lakers have changed course. It seems like the organization is embracing the tank, as LeBron James will see his workload reduced drastically the remainder of the season.
According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, James is going to be put on a minutes restriction for the remainder of the season. In addition to the reduced minutes, it is likely that James will not play in any back-to-back games the remainder of the season.
The news was shared on Yahoo Sports’ Twitter account.
BREAKING: @ChrisBHaynes reports Lakers will put LeBron on a minutes restriction and likely won't let him play back-to-backs. pic.twitter.com/02jI7UYIsp
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 7, 2019
This is absolutely shocking news. James, who just surpassed Michael Jordan for fourth place on the all-time scoring list against the Nuggets on Wednesday, is the ultimate competitor. When asked about potentially sitting out games earlier this week, James said it wouldn’t happen.
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Well, those plans have changed as James will see his minutes cut down drastically. 28-32 minutes is the most that he will play in a game the remainder of the season.
James has played fewer than 30 minutes only four times this season; all the way back on Oct. 22 against the Phoenix Suns, Nov. 4 against the Toronto Raptors, Nov. 17 against the Orlando Magic and on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors when he injured his groin.
This is a clear indication that the Lakers organization is turning their attention to the offseason and the 2019-20 season. By limiting the playing time for James, Los Angeles seems more than happy to start losing games and drop in the standings.
Los Angeles has a chance to put themselves in the top-10 if they lose enough games. With Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma injured already, the losses could pile up rather quickly.
This is an odd ending to what has been a bizarre first season for James in Los Angeles. Who would have ever thought that the Lakers would be taking a page out of the New Orleans Pelicans book in regards to Anthony Davis, sitting their superstar player to improve draft position?
That is now where we seem to be at as Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are ready to turn the page on this season and prep for the next one.