It’s never an accident with LeBron James.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has been following James’ career since high school, believes the Lakers star was sending a message to the team’s management by putting a Knicks towel over his shoulders during a postgame television interview on Saturday night.
“Obviously LeBron often wears towels and this is why it’s so brilliant because he has perfect deniability,” Windhorst remarked on the “Hoops Collective” podcast earlier this month.
He can merely say, “Oh, I just wrapped a towel around my shoulders.” What exactly are you talking about? “You guys are insane.” However, LeBron is particularly good at this. He computes all of this stuff. Of course, he was aware that he was putting on a New York Knicks towel. Why would he meddle with the Knicks? Because he was using the Knicks to apply pressure on the Lakers.
James scored 24 points to lead the Lakers to a 113-105 victory at Madison Square Garden, ending the Knicks’ nine-game win streak.
In the postgame interview, he praised star guard Jalen Brunson — “more than an All-Star level this year” — as well as the Knicks.
LeBron is wearing a Knicks towel for his postgame interview 👀 pic.twitter.com/OMTzizCTN4.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing). Feb. 4, 2024
The win, however, only boosted the Lakers’ record to 26-25, indicating that not everything is going well in La La Land this season.
Despite James and fellow star Anthony Davis’ relative health, the team is battling for a Western Conference playoff place.
When asked before Saturday night’s game about his Lakers future, James remained tight-lipped, including about his player option for next season, while posting an hourglass emoji on X.
And, while James’ agent, Rich Paul, dismissed trade rumors involving his client on Friday, it is evident that James wants the Lakers to make a move to make the team a more competitive title challenger.
“This is a playbook he has gone to many times,” Windhorst said of James, 39. “He wants the Lakers to go all out to maximize their season… That’s what LeBron will do.
“I don’t believe he has any plans to leave the Lakers. I do not believe he has harmed his position by leaving his future uncertain.”
If James’ situation changes or he decides to leave Los Angeles this offseason, the Knicks are a more appealing destination than they have been in some time.
Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle have transformed the squad into a serious Eastern Conference contender, currently sitting at the fourth spot with a 32-18 record.
The Post’s Stefan Bondy stated Paul met with Knicks president Leon Rose on Friday to iron out past conflicts between the two, which has made Klutch Sports clients moving to New York challenging.
“The Knicks will be highly appealing moving future… “The Knicks had to be an option going forward,” Windhorst stated. “It’s almost like the Knicks need Klutch clients eventually, even if it’s not LeBron… Someone is going to want to play in New York. Somebody will look at Jalen Brunson and think, ‘You know, it wasn’t the worst decision in the world.'”
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