“Fairly frankly, I don’t actually care about articles,” James stated, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I actually don’t. I don’t care about tales. I don’t care about podcasts and all that sort of s–t. Nah, they don’t trouble me. I’m 41 years previous, and I watch golf every single day. I don’t care about an article. I don’t care how anyone feels about me. If you already know me personally and you already know what I’m about, (my teammates) know what I’m about, and that’s all that issues. … I can care much less how anyone feels about me.”
Jeanie issued a response to Wednesday’s report, which targeted totally on Buss household drama and the choice to promote the crew to Mark Walter. In an announcement to The Athletic, she stated the concept she doesn’t recognize what James has performed for the franchise is “simply not true and utterly unfair to him.”
Requested particularly about his working relationship with Jeanie, LeBron stated he believes they’re on good phrases.
“However, you already know, anyone may see it one other manner,” James stated. “It’s all the time two sides of the coin. … How I represented this franchise, and what I wished to do to characterize this franchise since after I bought right here till now, it’s been with the utmost respect and honor and dignity. And I’d say loyalty. I imply, s–t, I performed right here longer than just about another franchise I performed for moreover Cleveland.”
ESPN’s report, written by Baxter Holmes, cited a number of particular moments or incidents through the years that allegedly irked Buss. For example, based on Holmes, she chafed at the truth that — after pushing the Lakers to commerce for Russell Westbrook — James appeared to scrub his fingers of that transfer when it didn’t work out, leaving administration to take the blame.
Holmes additionally wrote that Buss didn’t like LeBron being painted because the “savior” of a struggling franchise when he signed with the Lakers as a free agent in 2018.
“My complete mindset was about restoring excellence,” James stated on Thursday of his choice to affix the Lakers. “The issues that I noticed rising up with the Lakers — clearly, I didn’t get a possibility to look at the Showtime (period), however I do know the historical past. Then the early 2000s with Shaq and Kobe, after which what Kobe did and people couple runs with him and Pau. So, my complete mindset was like, how can I get that feeling again to the Lakers group?
“… I used to be ready to try this together with, you already know, 14, 16 different guys profitable the championship, bringing the championship right here. That’s all the time been my mindset.”
Even when — as Holmes’ reporting prompt — Buss privately harbored some stage of resentment towards LeBron, these emotions by no means really impacted the strikes the Lakers made with the four-time MVP. James has signed three maximum-salary or near-max multiyear contracts with the Lakers, most just lately in 2024 when he agreed to a two-year, $101.4M deal that made him one in every of simply two NBA gamers with a proper no-trade clause.
Requested on Thursday, if he would think about waiving that NTC or if he desires to complete out the season with the Lakers, the 41-year-old laughed and replied, “I’m good. I’m good.”
