Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James or Michael Jordan has been debated ad nauseam by basketball fans and commentators alike, but the King added an interesting twist to the debate Monday during a question-and-answer session on Twitter on Monday.

James was asked which teammate either past or present he would choose for a two-on-two game against Jordan and Scottie Pippen and responded by saying Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Durant.

While Irving was his only teammate during an NBA season from that list, he did play in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics with Bryant and in the 2012 Games with Durant.

Perhaps James stretched the limits of the question a bit by including two of the all-time greats that he only played with on Team USA, but any of those matchups would be intriguing. Former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade would also figure to make a formidable pairing with James in a matchup against the Chicago Bulls legends, but he apparently didn't make the cut.

That means it's just one more thing for fans to argue about when it comes to matching up James and Jordan.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is confident in himself in a one-on-one scenario, and apparently it doesn't matter the sport.

While holding a Q&A session on Twitter on Monday night, James was asked by Tampa Bay Buccaneers star quarterback Tom Brady which one of them would win in an ice hockey shootout. Of course, James chose himself, joking that he'd have to make an adjustment for his 6'8" frame:

James and Brady may have just provided an idea for another iteration of Capital One's The Match on TNT. This year's exhibition golf match will see Brady team up with Aaron Rodgers to take on Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.

James has time on his hands after the Lakers failed to qualify for the postseason after going 33-49. The Lakers are in the market for a new head coach after firing Frank Vogel in April.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been a bit more active on social media after his team failed to make the playoffs this season. On Monday, James invited fans to participate in an "ask me anything" session.

One question that caught James' attention was about his favorite player under the age of 25, and he gave that distinction to Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic.

James has been enjoying the show like everyone else, as Doncic has been the most exciting player in the postseason. The 23-year-old led Dallas to an upset series win over the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in seven games. He scored 35 points on Sunday in a blowout victory on the road.

Dallas is in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since winning the NBA championship in 2011. Doncic and the Mavs will take on the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Patrick Beverley is under contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 2022-23 season. But if he weren't, one team he apparently would consider is the Los Angeles Lakers, to play alongside LeBron James.

"If I was a free agent and if me and Minnesota didn't agree to a number, yes," Beverley said on ESPN's This Just In when Max Kellerman asked him if he would want to play for the Lakers. "I wouldn't even hesitate. Just to be able to play with a great like [James], be able to pick his brain, be able to be a star in whatever role that I have, playing alongside Russell Westbrook...fantastic. Playing for the Lakers, couldn't ask for a better job."

It was a little surprising to hear Beverley cite playing alongside Westbrook as a perk of being on the Lakers after he seemed to revel in talking trash to him during a March matchup between the teams, alongside Karl-Anthony Towns:

Beverley, 33, went on quite the smack-talking tour on Monday across a variety of ESPN shows, putting his crosshairs on the recently eliminated Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul in particular:

The Lakers, of course, were quite the mess in the 2021-22 season, finishing 33-49. The issues ran deep, as Westbrook proved to be a poor fit next to James and Anthony Davis, and the rest of the roster construction lacked players with the ability to defend at a high level or stretch the floor.

Fair or not, the man who was sacrificed for those shortcomings was former head coach Frank Vogel, with the position still vacant and reports that previous members of the organization's brain trust like Phil Jackson and Magic Johnson have re-emerged within Jeanie Buss' inner circle.

But the Lakers still have one of the most iconic histories in American sports, and living in sunny Los Angeles is always a selling point. Add in the chance to play alongside one of the greatest players ever to step on a basketball court, and most role players would eagerly sign up to join the Lakers, warts and all.

Even Beverley—who isn't afraid to kick a franchise when its down, like he did to Phoenix on Monday—would sign up for that.

The Russell Westbrook experiment was disastrous for the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021-22 season. But it may get an encore nonetheless. 

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the "notion of Westbrook remaining part of their program is seeming more real all the time."

The issue for the Lakers is that Westbrook's massive contract—he has a $47.4 million player option that he's expected to pick up—makes him nearly impossible to trade without attaching some sweeteners.

Instead, the organization has reportedly been asking incoming coaching candidates how they would plan to best utilize Westbrook's skill set, per Amick:

Despite the widely held belief that the Lakers would find a way to trade Westbrook before the start of next season, sources say their coaching candidates have been asked to discuss how they would use him in their system during interviews. The takeaway for candidates, it seems, is that maximizing Westbrook's presence after his disastrous 2021-22 season is considered an important part of this job.

That's no small task. 

It would be unfair to solely blame Westbrook for the Lakers' horrid 33-49 season. Both Davis and LeBron James struggled to stay on the court because of injuries, and the roster construction left the Lakers short on the sort of perimeter defenders and three-point shooters needed to get the most out of their stars. 

But Westbrook was a tough watch, averaging 18.5 points, his lowest total since the 2009-10 season. He added 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game, but he shot only 44.4 percent from the floor, 29.8 percent from three and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line. 

It didn't take long to see that Westbrook was a tough fit next to James and AD. As the season wore on it, appeared that his confidence was eroding, to the point that he was even bricking dunks. 

Given his ball-dominant playing style throughout his career and his inability to space the floor, he was always going to be a tough fit next to James in particular. Those concerns were borne out. 

Perhaps former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel didn't devise the best system to minimize those stylistic clashes. He paid the price, serving as the organization's scapegoat after the season. But sometimes, players are just a square peg in a system that's a round hole. 

In this case, however, the square peg costs more than $47 million. 

LeBron James reportedly remains "invested" in the Los Angeles Lakers despite the team's failure to make the 2022 NBA playoffs.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Wednesday on Get Up that James and Lakers president Jeanie Buss are in a "good place" and hope some offseason changes can get the franchise back on track:

From the LeBron side, as far as I understand, and before I say this it's important with LeBron that you have to keep taking the temperature. Just because it's certain one way on a Wednesday, doesn't mean it will be Friday. But from what I understand, LeBron and Jeanie are in a good place right now. Despite the frustrations of the season, LeBron believes that a few tweaks and some health can actually turn this thing around and they can be super competitive. He is invested and wants to be there.

L.A. has endured a roller coaster stretch since LeBron arrived in 2018.

The Lakers missed the playoffs in his first season and then enjoyed a massive turnaround following the arrival of Anthony Davis to capture the 2020 NBA title.

They've been trending in the wrong direction since capturing that ring, though. They were knocked out of last year's postseason in the first round before falling short of this year's playoff field.

Injuries have been a significant factor. James and Davis combined to miss 63 games in 2020-21 and 68 more in 2021-22.

The Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook before this season with an eye toward remaining competitive when one of the other stars was out of the lineup, but the 2016-17 NBA MVP failed to live up to expectations in an ever-changing role.

Buss told Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times she was frustrated with how the season played out.

"I'm growing impatient just because we had the fourth-highest payroll in the league. ... When you spend that kind of money on the luxury tax, you expect to go deep into the playoffs," Buss said. "So, yeah, it was gut-wrenching for me to go out on a limb like that and not get the results that we were looking for. ... I'm not happy, I'm not satisfied."

She added: "We don't like to be missing the playoffs, I understand the fans anger and frustration. I've got to make it better."

An important 12 months lie ahead for the Lakers as James heads into the final season of his contract.

The NBA's longtime gold standard hasn't hesitated to talk about possible future plans, whether it's playing alongside the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry or finishing his Hall of Fame career as a teammate of his son, 2024 draft eligible Bronny James.

While LeBron continues to play at a high level when healthy, he's 37, and injuries have been a pretty consistent factor over the past handful of years. So he's likely not going to sit around waiting for the Lakers to figure things out if there aren't signs of a turnaround in 2022-23.

At least for now, however, it doesn't sound like James is going to seek a trade this summer.

Disney released a trailer Tuesday for Rise, a biographical movie about the life of Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers, Thanasis and Kostas, who became the first trio of siblings to all win an NBA championship.

The film is set for a June 24 release on the Disney Plus streaming platform:

In October, Disney announced Giannis would serve as executive producer for the project alongside director Akin Omotoso and producer Bernie Goldmann.

"I am thrilled and honored that Disney+ is bringing my family's story to people all over the world," the two-time NBA MVP said. "My hope is that it will inspire those in similar circumstances to keep the faith, stay true to their goals and not to give up on striving for a better life."

Disney stated the movie would showcase "how one family's vision, determination and faith lifted them out of obscurity to launch the career of three NBA champions." Here's a full synopsis:

After emigrating to Greece from Nigeria, Vera and Charles Antetokounmpo struggled to survive and provide for their five children, while living under the daily threat of deportation. With their oldest son still in Nigeria with relatives, the couple were desperate to obtain Greek citizenship but found themselves undermined by a system that blocked them at every turn. When they weren't selling items to tourists on the streets of Athens with the rest of the family, encouraged by their father, the brothers would sneak away to play basketball with a local youth team. Latecomers to the sport, they discovered their great abilities on the basketball court and worked hard to become world class athletes. With the help of an agent, Giannis entered the NBA draft in 2013 in a long-shot prospect that would change not only his life but the life of his entire family.

Uche Agada plays the lead role of Giannis in the film.

Antetokounmpo has emerged as one of the NBA's best players across nine years with the Bucks. After racking up numerous individual accolades, he guided Milwaukee to a championship in 2021 while being named the NBA Finals MVP.

Thanasis was also a member of the Bucks' title-winning squad last year, while Kostas won a ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

They have two other brothers: Francis, a soccer player, and Alex, who plays for the Toronto Raptors' affiliate in the G League.

The 2022 NBA Finals are scheduled to conclude no later than June 19, the date of a possible Game 7, so the timing of the release matches up perfectly with the end of the season.

It'll be particularly fitting if the Bucks are able to successfully defend their title. They are currently tied with the Boston Celtics at two games apiece in a second-round playoff series.

While the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a disappointing campaign in which they failed to even qualify for the play-in tournament, president Jeanie Buss has no plans of selling the team.

"In terms of selling the team, I'm not going anywhere," she said, per Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times (h/t HoopsHype). "This is exactly what my dad asked me to do. The team is not for sale."

She cited her father, Jerry Buss, multiple times in explaining her position.

"This was something that was important to him, that he wanted me to keep the Lakers in the family," she said. "I like to say, my dad had his children, but the Lakers were his baby, and he put me in charge of the baby, and I will make sure that the baby thrives."

Jerry Buss died in 2013, and his succession plan called for Jeanie Buss to become the team's governor and representative at the NBA board of governors meetings. She was also put in charge of the franchise's business operations.

Jerry Buss purchased the Lakers in 1979.

In 2017, Jeanie Buss stripped her brother, Jim, of his role as executive vice president of basketball operations and fired general manager Mitch Kupchak. She hired current general manager Rob Pelinka as Kupchak's replacement.

While the 60-year-old told Plaschke that she is "growing impatient" after spending into the luxury tax just to watch the Purple and Gold finish with a 33-49 record, she also expressed confidence that Pelinka can turn things around this offseason.

"I have complete confidence that he can put together a roster and find a coach that is going to get us back to where we belong," she said.

Doing so will likely start with hiring a new head coach after Los Angeles fired Frank Vogel. Vogel led the team to the 2020 championship inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble, but the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs the following year and were the biggest disappointment in the league this past season.

Rebuilding the team on the fly may also mean moving on from Russell Westbrook, who was not an ideal fit alongside LeBron James given how ball-dominant both can be and how much the guard struggles to hit from three-point range.

Keeping James and Anthony Davis healthy would also go a long way toward the Lakers returning to contention, but there is still plenty of work to be done this offseason.

Buss made it clear she has no plans to sell the team while that work is done.       

Los Angeles Lakers team governor Jeanie Buss offered a vote of confidence in general manager Rob Pelinka.

"In terms of basketball decisions, I have complete confidence in our front office," Buss told the Los Angeles Times' Bill Plaschke. "He is a person that is extremely smart, extremely strategic, everything he does is thoughtful and with purpose. … I have complete confidence that he can put together a roster and find a coach that is going to get us back to where we belong."

There's plenty of blame to go around as the Lakers stare into the abyss that is their short-term future. As the key decision-maker on basketball matters, the external heat on Pelinka is scorching.

Buss' comments, however, further illustrate how there appears to be little appetite internally to shake up the front office.

NBA insider Marc Stein reported in February the GM "has the unwavering support of Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and is firmly entrenched as a pillar of the club's four-pronged brain trust alongside Buss and the power couple of Kurt and Linda Rambis."

A month later, The Athletic's Sam Amick and Bill Oram reported nothing had changed, with Pelinka enjoying "full support and trust."

Amick and Oram provided some additional context, explaining how Buss longed to have Kobe Bryant join the front office in a meaningful way at some point. Pelinka had been Bryant's agent, and the report laid out how he "now represents both himself and Bryant in that role" Buss seemingly earmarked for Kobe.

While L.A. hasn't epitomized a functional NBA franchise the past two seasons, it would make little sense to let Pelinka have input on a head coaching search and then dump him after the coach is hired.

For now at least, the Lakers are giving the 52-year-old the opportunity to solve the mess he helped create.