LeBron: Lakers 'wrong franchise' to let distractions affect play
The Los Angeles Lakers lost for the 10th time in 14 games on Monday, falling 110-105 to the lowly Memphis Grizzlies. LeBron James was asked postgame about distractions affecting the team.
"At this point if you're still allowing distractions to affect the way you play, then this is the wrong franchise to be a part of and you should just come in and be like, 'Listen, I can't do this,'" James told Spectrum SportsNet.
The comments come after a mostly uneventful trade deadline for the Lakers, although James' agent and business partner Rich Paul tried to influence Los Angeles' chances of acquiring fellow client Anthony Davis.
Since the Feb. 7 deadline, the Lakers are 2-4 and have dropped to 11th in the Western Conference.
Despite saying last week he's "activated" his playoff intensity early to push the Lakers into the postseason, James was caught napping defensively several times on Monday night.
I just wanna know what LeBron James was thinking on defense during this Lakers / Grizzlies game 👀 pic.twitter.com/6gadl2AWrx
— kingtisemedia (@kingtisemedia) February 26, 2019
lebron james "playoff mode activated" defense pic.twitter.com/Jh6fTNN80J
— nbaayy (@nbaayy) February 26, 2019
James did pass Andre Miller for 10th all time in regular-season assists during the loss, finishing with his 79th career triple-double while recording 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 dimes.
There are 22 games remaining in the Lakers' regular season, beginning on Wednesday against Davis' New Orleans Pelicans. James hasn't missed the playoffs since his sophomore campaign in 2004-05.