Summer League Lakers avoid LeBron James talk amid hoopla
Lakers guard Josh Hart walked into his media scrum Saturday in style, sporting a vintage Magic Johnson 1991 NBA All-Star Game jersey and a Roc-A-Fella chain — the one rapper Jay-Z used to hand out to members of his record label.
Hart said he got the throwback jersey 10 months ago. So why did the second-year player decide it’s the right time to go with the early 2000s hip-hop look?
Was Hart applauding Johnson, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, for getting the best player on the planet, LeBron James, to join the prestigious franchise?
Did the chain signify that Hart is part of the James band? The four-time NBA MVP is good friends with Jay-Z.
OK, maybe all that is a stretch.
Here’s Hart’s reasoning for the fashion statement: “You know what, it’s Vegas. It’s going to be 115 (degrees). I need something light. It’s in the closet, so I might as well bring it out.”
Throwing on a jersey after a game to stay cool amid the Las Vegas heat makes sense.
Or … it’s about the LeBron and Magic partnership.
The basketball world wants to talk about James as a Laker. The team technically isn’t allowed to because James hasn’t signed his Lakers contract. Google still has James listed as a “free agent.”
James announced in a statement last week that he intends to sign a four-year deal with the Lakers.
The NBA store in New York jumped the gun this week by selling James No. 23 Lakers jerseys, but the Lakers’ Summer League squad in Las Vegas won’t make the same mistake.
“We’ve been on the road, we’ve been in Sacramento, when all this stuff started happening for us,” said Lakers Summer League coach Miles Simon about the free agency reports. “I’ve really just been focusing on this group because for me and for them it’s about their journey.”
A member of the Lakers’ main roster might have provided the date for the team’s official James welcoming party.
“Can’t talk until Tuesday,” said Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma, last year’s Las Vegas Summer League championship game MVP.
So Tuesday could be the grand day when James puts pen to paper and all the whispers end. Or it’s another wrong assumption and James doesn’t plan to go near a pen any time soon while on vacation in Italy.
The summer Lakers have to pretend they don’t know about James’ eventual arrival. Hopefully Hart’s reaction Tuesday — the day Kuzma said it’s all official — is as good as Malik Monk’s when the Review-Journal broke the news to Monk that Tony Parker is his new teammate in Charlotte.
“We got Tony Parker?” a giddy Monk asked.
Monk isn’t allowed to talk about the Spurs great joining the Hornets because, again, no pen to paper. All this seems silly with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropping “Woj bombs” on Twitter, but those are the rules.
There was no pretending from Lakers fans when Los Angeles’ summer squad defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in its opening game Saturday. The LeBron James excitement oozed from the Thomas & Mack Center.
JaVale McGee, who recently signed with the Lakers, received a rousing ovation as he made his way down the stands high-fiving fans.
McGee sat next to teammates Lonzo Ball, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma on Guccia Row. They approved of Lakers first-round rookie Moritz Wagner’s performance.
James was probably clapping from his Italy hotel room watching Lakers second-round rookie Svi Mykhailiuk hit shots with ease.
With no big trades in sight, according to NBA Twitter, these are James’ teammates for now. They’re young, talented and have a whole lot of personality.
But the franchise with 16 NBA titles hasn’t made the postseason in five seasons. James has the daunting task of resurrecting the Lakers, and there’s a lot of hoopla around that.
Just don’t talk about it until Tuesday.
More NBA Summer League: Follow coverage online at reviewjournal.com/summerlea
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.
