LeBron James' Top Quotes and Highlights from 2021 Lakers Media Day

After a notable offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James met with the media for the first time to discuss the roster changes and the upcoming season.

The biggest addition for the Lakers is Russell Westbrook, who was acquired last month in a trade with the Washington Wizards. The 2016-17 NBA MVP is expected to be the third superstar Los Angeles hasn't had during the James-Anthony Davis era.

"We've been tied at the hip pretty much since we made the acquisition," James said Tuesday of his connection with Westbrook.

Westbrook is also going to be counted on to keep the Lakers offense going strong during the minutes when James is off the court.

Per StatMuse, the Lakers had a 107.7 offensive rating in 27 regular-season games without James in 2020-21. It was 112.2 with the four-time NBA MVP.

One significant talking point about all of the Lakers' offseason additions has been the age of their roster. Westbrook, Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Wayne Ellington and Rajon Rondo are all at least 33 years old.

Per RealGM, the Lakers project to have the oldest average roster age in the league this season at 30.9 years old. That's more than two years older than the No. 2 team (Miami Heat at 28.8).

James admitted he has taken some enjoyment in the jokes and social media posts about his team's age:

As for how all of these new players will fit together, James didn't shy away from making a lofty comparison with one of his old teams:

The 2010-11 Miami Heat with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh got off to a pedestrian 9-8 start before winning 21 of their next 22 games. They finished 58-24 with the best net rating in the NBA (+8.2), per Basketball Reference.

Of course, that Heat squad famously lost in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks.

James and the Lakers will certainly be hoping for a different result than that. All of their roster changes came in the wake of the Phoenix Suns eliminating them in the first round of the playoffs.

The Lakers only had Davis available for five minutes total over the final two games against the Suns because of a groin injury. James was also working his way back from a high-ankle sprain.

Now that both of their stars are healthy and ready to play, the Lakers expect to compete for the top spot in the Western Conference. They will tip off the 2021-22 season on Oct. 19 at the Staples Center against the Golden State Warriors.