Davon Ham and Rob Pelinka discuss managing LeBron James’ workload in Season 21

As the 2022-23 season begins, it’s clear that LeBron James is putting more effort into his 20th NBA season than he would like just to keep the Los Angeles Lakers viable.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made moves before the trade deadline that helped ease James’ workload, but unfortunately, he suffered a right foot tendon injury in his comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks on February 27.

The 38-year-old made a miraculous comeback before the playoffs, but clearly didn’t look 100 percent and hinted that he might retire after being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals. However, he will enter his 21st season, and head coach Davin Hamm discussed how to manage James in the upcoming season during a press conference on Thursday.

“That’s exactly what this press conference has been about so far, which is the continuity of building a balanced roster,” Ham said. “It makes us more efficient in the way we manage him, he’s very good at managing himself and all the resources he’s put into making sure he’s not just performing at a high level. Now, from top to bottom, we feel like we’re a high, high level team A balanced, skilled, athletic, young team that’s getting a lot of NBA minutes and we can surround him and AD with these guys that are coming in. Hungry to contribute, hungry to prove that they can impact wins. That’s going to allow We’re able to be more efficient with the minutes per game, the big picture, each month, different parts of the calendar.

“He’s following the rest rule, so I’m glad to see that. So that’ll help as well. But Brown, he’s taken good care of himself. Now with the team around him, the guys we’ve got in place, those People are going to step up and do a lot of the heavy lifting early on.”

While adding depth to the roster will certainly help the four-time champion, Pelinka said that despite James’ mileage as a player, he’s still preparing the only way he knows how.

When asked how James was preparing for his 21st season, Pelinka said: “I will answer that question in one word: preparation.” “For a guy who has been playing for 20 years and is like a rookie, For a player preparing for ’21, it’s astounding. He’s been training at 6 a.m. probably as much as any player in our building this offseason. Going to the weight room as often as any player. .

“Any team that LeBron has ever played for, he’s done a very consistent job of setting the tone. The number of people who see this happening here does nothing but increase. To me, we should be talking about it, Instead of talking about it. He’s definitely been focusing on it this offseason. Seeing him prepare so carefully and work so hard gives our whole team a lot of fighting spirit.”

So far, James has clearly defied Father Time and appears to be rejuvenated after the physical and mental challenges of last season.

After being swept, James seems ready to return to the court and win another championship for Los Angeles this season.

Hamm expresses optimism about Anthony Davis and new Lakers

James’ partner Anthony Davis has been dominant defensively in the playoffs and appears to be struggling to find his shooting to add to his offense this offseason. Hamm noted that he remains optimistic about Davis despite some of his offensive struggles and the moves the Lakers have made this summer.