Years of futility put the Los Angeles Lakers in previously unchartered territory but led to the franchise collecting a talented group of young assets. One of which — D’Angelo Russell — invariably led the Lakers creating enough salary cap space to sign LeBron James.
Although there was some belief James’ arrival would lead to the Lakers breaking up their young core, he was impressed by the group and eager to play alongside Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma.
James has regularly praised his younger teammates, even attempting to take pressure off them by explaining why expecting regular contributions was ‘unfair.