It was a big day for LeBron James news on Tuesday. First, James paid off the gigantic tease of the next big "Decision" he'd be making. And, as most of us suspected, it was in fact part of an ad campaign.
But -- TWIST! -- instead of it being for Amazon Prime (Prime Day started Tuesday) it was actually for Hennessy. So LeBron chooses cognac! And in the process, got a lot of eye rolls from people who thought maybe bigger news was coming, or found the ad itself to be corny... which it kinda was because most things LeBron does now are goofy/corny in a dad humor sort of way. That happens when you're 40.
But more importantly, the Lakers might be choosing to keep him out of preseason games entirely, with the hope he's ready to go, fully healed from the nerve irritation in his glute, by the start of the regular season. It would be a downer for James not to get any floor time with the team before the 21st, because it would significantly impact the ability to build chemistry. But more importantly, it indicates this pain in the butt might be more than just training camp caution.
Meanwhile, Marcus Smart was on the floor Tuesday (great, great news) and very quickly showed what he brings.
Finally, there's some movement in the Giannis Watch! part of the NBA world. Shams over at ESPN reports that if he asks out of Milwaukee, it'll be with New York as a preferred destination. Given how unlikely it seems that Nikola Jokic will leave Denver when his contract is up, this news would put a serious damper on any big plans for the summer of '27. So how does this alter LA's plans?
HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky
SEGMENT 1: LeBron chooses cognac!
SEGMENT 2: LeBron might not play this preseason.
SEGMENT 3: Giannis watch and how it impacts the Lakers.
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