LeBron James Gives an Injury Update (Sort of), D'Angelo Russell Opens Up about his Lakers Future

Updates about LeBron James and his injured foot have come out in drips and drabs, and have almost always been couched in very vague language that promises nothing and leaves only a sort of broad, general impression about what might maybe happen, perhaps with a week left in the season or maybe four days or possibly eight or maybe none. Point being, nobody has been saying anything even a little bit definitive. But perhaps it's still been too definitive for James, who put out his own update on social media, which let folks know what he's been up to and also did the SMH at "sources" out there. Granted, LeBron's update was equally fuzzy as anything else that's been reported, and didn't even really refute anything. So what was the point of putting it out there? Time to read some tea leaves! From there, the length of James's absence, combined with the quality of play from Austin Reaves, has some folks overthinking what might happen when James returns, and how the Lakers might want to handle things. Finally, it's fairly standard operating procedure for players, after they've been traded and especially when they're traded to a marquee franchise like the Lakers, to almost reflexively declare they'd like to be in (insert new city) forever. It may not turn out that way, obviously, but that's how the conversation usually starts. After Wednesday's win over Phoenix, D'Angelo Russell spoke extensively about his maturation as a person and a player, and whether or not he felt "at home" yet with the Lakers. No, he doesn't. Not yet. And it's not hard to understand why. Russell's career arc has been remarkably unstable for a player producing at his level, and he's a reminder of just how much we ask of young athletes, in ways we don't do for 19 and 20 year olds in any other profession. HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky SEGMENT 1: LeBron delivers his own injury update. SEGMENT 2: Should the Lakers be concerned about what happens to the lineup when LeBron comes back? SEGMENT 3: D'Lo's path back to LA hasn't been easy, and you can hardly blame the guy for not assuming he'll be here forever. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order. Ultimate Pro Basketball GM To download the game just visit probasketballgm.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store. PrizePicks First time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDON FanDuel Make Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices