A quote offered by LeBron James following Monday night’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies about “distractions” affecting the team isn’t nearly as bad as some made it out to be.
James’ Los Angeles Lakers are now 29-31 and in the 11th spot in the West with 22 games remaining. A quote from James about distractions bothering the team circulated following the game, making it sound like James was blaming the team’s young players who were involved in trade rumors.
Lakers’ LeBron James after loss to Grizzlies (via @SpectrumSN): “If you’re still allowing distractions to affect the way you play, this is the wrong franchise to be a part of and you should just come in and be like, ‘Listen, I can’t do this.’” pic.twitter.com/s3gHiuhODx
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 26, 2019
When the context of the question was released, people realized James wasn’t calling out his youngsters for being bothered by the trade rumors. He was actually asked whether the team’s playoff push has been a distraction.
Here’s the full Q&A:
Here you go – the context of what LeBron said right before, what the question was, his answer: pic.twitter.com/x3WKgDVh2E
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 26, 2019
James also said “it starts with me” on a previous answer, indicating he’s taking responsibility for the Lakers falling below expectations.
Following consecutive road losses to the Pelicans and Grizzlies, many are starting to believe the Lakers will not make the playoffs. One executive said LeBron killed the team’s chemistry.
