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LOS ANGELES – When Paul George and LeBron James take the Staples Center floor as teammates in the NBA All-Star game on Sunday night, the millions of Lakers fans tuning in will hardly notice the team logos on their black jerseys.
Sure, James still plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers and George is a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But in their purple-and-gold dream world, where all these years of bad basketball and free agency failings finally come to an end, the soon-to-be free agents will join forces and spend the next few years returning glory to the once-proud franchise.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) defends Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George ...more
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
So they’ll buzz about George on Team LeBron. They’ll recap all the supposed bread crumbs that have been left behind along the way, including the growth of James’ business dealings in Los Angeles that were clearly a prelude to his arrival; the recent purchase of a $23 million Brentwood home; George’s childhood spent 90 minutes from here in Palmdale, Calif., and how his well-chronicled interest in joining the Lakers has to mean he’ll sign that maximum salary contract top executive Magic Johnson will be offering come July.
Superstar subplots are standard fare for All-Star weekend, but the James-George story line has been on steroids this time around because of the tantalizing timing of this year’s locale. Add in the fact that the Lakers have no All-Stars of their own for the second consecutive year, and this local love affair with these two particular visitors is on a whole new level.
The awkward dynamic was there for all to see on Saturday, when Lakers fans who ρáíd $10 to sit in the bleachers at media day chanted “We want Paul” while he spoke with reporters about his free agency future.
George took it in stride at his assigned station, but his Thunder co-star who was two tables away, Russell Westbrook, wasn’t about to let this kind of recruiting go unchecked.
“That’s out,” he hollered after interrupting himself mid-sentence to address the crowd that was some 100 feet away. “Paul ain’t going nowhere; it’s over for that.”
The chanting stopped.
“See how quickly they silenced,” Westbrook said with a grin.
Sure, James still plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers and George is a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. But in their purple-and-gold dream world, where all these years of bad basketball and free agency failings finally come to an end, the soon-to-be free agents will join forces and spend the next few years returning glory to the once-proud franchise.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) defends Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George ...more
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
So they’ll buzz about George on Team LeBron. They’ll recap all the supposed bread crumbs that have been left behind along the way, including the growth of James’ business dealings in Los Angeles that were clearly a prelude to his arrival; the recent purchase of a $23 million Brentwood home; George’s childhood spent 90 minutes from here in Palmdale, Calif., and how his well-chronicled interest in joining the Lakers has to mean he’ll sign that maximum salary contract top executive Magic Johnson will be offering come July.
Superstar subplots are standard fare for All-Star weekend, but the James-George story line has been on steroids this time around because of the tantalizing timing of this year’s locale. Add in the fact that the Lakers have no All-Stars of their own for the second consecutive year, and this local love affair with these two particular visitors is on a whole new level.
The awkward dynamic was there for all to see on Saturday, when Lakers fans who ρáíd $10 to sit in the bleachers at media day chanted “We want Paul” while he spoke with reporters about his free agency future.
George took it in stride at his assigned station, but his Thunder co-star who was two tables away, Russell Westbrook, wasn’t about to let this kind of recruiting go unchecked.
“That’s out,” he hollered after interrupting himself mid-sentence to address the crowd that was some 100 feet away. “Paul ain’t going nowhere; it’s over for that.”
The chanting stopped.
“See how quickly they silenced,” Westbrook said with a grin.