The first domino of the Lakers offseason was a very powerful one played by LeBron James barely an hour after the final buzzer of Game 4 on Monday. After some cryptic, eyebrow-raising postgame comments, Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report and Dave McMenamin of ESPN both reported that LeBron was considering retirement.
After the initial feeling of shock, the move feels more and more like a power play from LeBron with one specific name likely in mind. For more than a year, the Lakers and Kyrie Irving have had a staredown, circling one another without yet coming together.