LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been leading the Los Angeles Lakers for almost half a decade. The duo has led the side to the 2019-20 season win and the 17th title for the Purple and Gold Army. The James-Davis duo has been among the best in the league for many years. They have been through great success as well as really tough times. Although, since the 2019-20 championship, it has been only a challenging time for the Lakers duo. They have not been able to keep themselves injury-free for the last few seasons each time.
Anthony Davis missed almost twenty games on the trot since injuring his ankle last December. Later, he returned and played a crucial role in leading the team to the Western Conference Finals. But AD never looked 100% healthy. Hence, the Lakers had to suffer a lot because of the weak health of Davis. On the other hand, LeBron James missed almost a month’s game schedule due to a tendon injury on his right foot. Despite that, King James hopes that his dynamic partnership with Davis can help the team in the next season.
LeBron James Still Has Faith In Anthony Davis
At 38, LeBron James has been in an impeccable touch as he is still one of the best players in the league. Other than his skills and abilities, his health has sometimes betrayed him in the 2022-23 season. But the Lakers are still counting on the star duo for the upcoming season. Moreover, they have one more year in their contracts with the 4-time All-Star. Hence, the franchise is still trying to build a team around the James-Davis duo. However, there was a rumor that LeBron James was unhappy with Anthony Davis because of his inconsistency and injury-prone nature. But Sportsnaut’s Mark Medina denied such claims. According to Medina, a person close to LeBron James mentioned that he is not frustrated with AD. Instead, James is thankful for Davis.
Obviously, LeBron James would hope that he and AD could play consistently throughout the season without any injury scares. But it does not always happen like that. Moreover, that anonymous person said that the way Anthony Davis came back from injury and led the team to the WCF only encouraged James. AD’s new avatar in the 2022-23 season encouraged the King that they can play consistently and stay healthy to play the next whole season. Moreover, James can feel bad that Davis’ unfortunate circumstances ruined several games but would definitely not hate his long-time teammate. Hence, the Lakers’ front office is planning to keep the core together for the next season as well.
Lakers Front Office Has Faith In The Core
Unlike AD and James, many players are heading toward free agency this offseason. That’s what concerns the front office most as in how to keep them together for 2023-24. As a result, the Lakers have planned to extend Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura’s contracts in any way possible. Apparently, Rob Pelinka told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times what the Lakers plan to add in the offseason.
Reportedly, they are planning to add tough, defensive, and selfless players to the roster who would provide quality support to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Anyhow, the plan is to keep the same team with a few marginal upgrades. But the front office has faith in the team’s roster. After all, they turned an almost impossible task to reach the conference finals into a reality.