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Lakers Rumors: Should LeBron James miss the first month of next season?

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 11: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after winning the 2020 NBA Championship over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 11: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts after winning the 2020 NBA Championship over the Miami Heat in Game Six of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers

Danny Green thinks LeBron James will sit out the first month of next season for the Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the NBA has $500 million reasons to start the games in December. Money talks. And its voices screamed for the NBA to finish the season. It cost $180 million to set up the bubble. Had the season been canceled, the NBA was looking at losing $1.5 billion in projected revenue.

Now another money-driven bombshell had come out. The NBA is looking to resume next season on December 22. We get regular-season games for Christmas.

Merry Christmas! But this is not a merry thing for the Lakers. Or for the Heat.

The timeline is much tougher than it looks. The Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat last played on October 11. A standard NBA offseason spans over four months.

The Lakers and Heat will be asked to only have half that time to prepare for next season, equivalent to playing the Olympics in August then playing in the upcoming season in October. Except the NBA Playoff games are far more intense than playing Angola in a qualifying game.

So tough that Danny Green postulated LeBron James (and several other Laker veterans) might sit out the first month of next season if the season starts in December.

Money talks. Will LeBron really walk?

Yes. If Danny Green is to be believed. Take this with a grain of salt. LeBron James himself has not said anything. Green may walk his comments back. The NBA may not even start in December. They would be forfeiting a ton of potential revenue if they start in December. 40% of the league’s revenues come from box office sales.

They may want to wait until 2021 to start next season if they want to try to have fans in the stands. A full-capacity crowd in the Staples Center is not happening by late December. California is still under stringent lockdown orders as of today.

Will LeBron James really sit out? Maybe. He’s done it before. Should he? I’ll explain why it may or may not be a good idea.

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