Getty Images Kyle Kuzma and LeBron James
LeBron James was offered some immediate support in the form of Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma after backlash from his recent comments. When James was asked about the idea of playing with Anthony Davis, he called the thought “amazing” which sent the league into a frenzy.
As Bill Oram of The Athletic revealed, Kyle Kuzma backed James by pointing out the type of player Davis is and stating that “Michael Jordan would probably want to play with him too.”
Asked about LeBron’s comments about Anthony Davis this week, Kyle Kuzma said, “Who wouldn’t want to play with him? I’m sure I would want to play with him too. He’s a top five player in the league. So Michael Jordan would probably want to play with him too.”
While Kuzma is spot on about the fact that virtually any NBA player would have interest in teaming up with Davis (and LeBron, for that matter), this may make things even worse.
LeBron James Accused of Tampering
Shortly after James’ comments on the New Orleans Pelicans forward came to light, things took a swift turn. As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed, multiple NBA general managers stated the NBA needs to take action and address the situation, calling it tampering by the Lakers star.
“If these are the rules, enforce them,” one Western Conference GM told ESPN. “If you want to push Anthony Davis in L.A., if you allow LeBron to interfere with teams, then just do it. Change the rules, and say, ‘It’s the wild, wild west and anything goes.’
As Wojarnowski reminded, the Lakers have already been fined twice for tampering in the past two years. One of which was a $500,000 fine relating to Paul George and the second was $50,000 with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
If there weren’t enough storylines already surrounding the Lakers, Pelicans, James, and Davis, we can tack on the fact that the two teams meet on Friday night. To add to the drama, the game is set to be played at the Staples Center, so the trade rumblings and home crowd’s interest in wooing the Pelicans star should take center stage.
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