Akron native LeBron James addressed his reasons for leaving the Cavaliers for the sunny shores of Southern California and the Los Angeles Lakers on his online platform "Uninterrupted" on Sunday.
James, who is home Monday to open his I Promise School in partnership with the Akron Public Schools, said some of the allure boiled down to history.
"You know, growing up I was a Cowboys fan, a Bulls fan and a Yankees fan," James aid in the three-plus-minute message to his fans. "I always felt that was one of the historic franchises. You look at the Lakers, being able to play for a historic franchise."
The Lakers have certainly been one of the iconic franchises in NBA history. As an organization they have 16 championships dating back to 1949 when they played in Minneapolis. However, they have not appeared in the NBA playoffs since the 2013 season when they were swept in the opening round by a San Antonio Spurs team that lost to James and the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
James refers to the Lakers as a championship organization. However, he will once again have to bear the burden of carrying his team, something he did throughout the 2018 NBA Playoffs. The Lakers roster, as constituted now, includes a significant number of role players.
Given Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson is on the record as wanting to keep his team's salary cap situation as such so they can sign another max player to go along with James (Kawhi Leonard? Kevin Durant?) during next summer's free agency period, help will likely be on the way.
James has always been a competitor and said he welcomes the challenge of contributing to the Lakers' turnaround. He elaborated on another reason for his switch _ Johnson himself.
"Now being able to partner with Magic Johnson, someone I looked up to when I was younger and wanted to make no-look passes like Magic, wanted to get on the break and be Showtime like Magic," he said, "and then for it all to come to fruition at this point, I think timing is everything."
