A new report indicates that the Los Angeles Lakers are no longer conducting official shootarounds, with the reason being that LeBron James and Anthony Davis don’t want to take part in them.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic indicated that instead of regularly practicing and having formal morning shootarounds on the day of games, the Lakers have made it a voluntary decision. James and Davis apparently have no interest in joining the Lakers that do take part.
“The Lakers, though, are averse to not only practicing, but shooting around on game days,” Vardon wrote. “They do have players who go to the gym to get up shots, but it’s voluntary and LeBron often isn’t there. I’ve gone so far as to say this whole situation, them having players gather in the mornings, but not call it a ‘shootaround,’ is done to skirt rules about media access. The Lakers do not agree.
“‘LeBron James doesn’t want to do it (shootaround), Anthony Davis doesn’t want to do it. They kick ass when we don’t do it, so that’s it,’ said someone who would know.”
The concept of the morning shootaround dates back to the early 1970s, when former Lakers head coach Bill Sharman popularized the practice.
Given the 49-14 record the Lakers had prior to the NBA shutdown in March, the absence of a formal shootaround doesn’t appear to have had any detrimental effect on the team.
However, should the Lakers struggle during the course of the resumed 2019-20 season, there figures to be a criticism of the change from the traditional practice. In addition, it will reinforce the beliefs of critics of Lakers that James and Davis are dictating team policy.
Still, until a clear sign emerges that this new approach is a problem, the Lakers are content to follow the adage of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
