LeBron James' War Room And Who Else the Lakers Tried To Recruit
After losing in the first round to the Phoenix Suns in the 2021 playoffs, LeBron James and the Lakers got to work during the summer to put breathe new life into the team.
Reportedly, James set up a 'war room' in his house in LA. He did his own research into who would be a good fit alongside him and Anthony Davis. James held meetings at his home with players and called others to see if they would be a good fit.
Per aforementioned Athletic article, Davis joined James on some of these meetings and so did former Laker Jared Dudley. The big bombshell of this particular knowledge is that the first star who was on the docket to try and join the Lakers was another Los Angeles Native: DeMar Derozan. The Compton native went to USC, and last year still averaged 21 points a game in San Antonio's "win by committee" system. James and the Lakers also targeted Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal, but ultimately they realized the pieces they had to trade with would not work out on multiple levels for these kind of trades.
As noted in a previous article, the Lakers were on the cusp of trading for Kings guard Buddy Hield. That's when Russell Westbrook decided to move his pieces across the board and make his move.
As for how Westbrook and James, both playmakers, are going to work in the same system, a source from the aforementioned Athletic piece said it in the simplest terms.
"Just sacrifice. Sacrificing on both ends. They all have to sacrifice. It don't matter who you are. They've got to sacrifice. They know that. They talked about it. I think just out of respect for one another, 'Hey man, this is the only way this is going to work — if we can do it.' And so they had that understanding."
Any Laker fan reading that has to be excited. If they're willing to sacrifice a little personal glory for team success--that is going to pay off. In the end, James can let Westbrook penetrate the defense all he wants and be the trailer or the shooter. James has grown into a very good outside shooter--who would collapse on Westbrook knowing LeBron James would be left open for a shot or a cut to the rim? Absolutely no one. Early Laker instagram posts allude to Westbrook working extremely hard at his jump shot already as well.
James also had a hand in recruiting Carmelo Anthony by telling him three simple words. "I need you." If your friend tells you he needs you, Anthony is going to show up.
The question after all these war room tactics, after all the recruiting and trying to stack the roster full of veterans and superstars hungry for a title--are they all going to show up?
