LeBron James Comments on Load Management Ahead of Lakers Season

With the start of the 2020-21 NBA season coming with a brief eight-week turnaround from when the Los Angeles Lakers hoisted the championship trophy, star LeBron James was honest about the expectations for his performance, acknowledging the possibility of load management moving forward. 

"We'll be as smart as we can be," James said, noting that "every game matters," per USA Today's Mark Medina. "We're very [conscientious] of what we do going forward." 

Last season, James averaged 34.6 minutes per game—the most on the team—before contributing 36.3 minutes through 21 postseason starts en route to the title. 

James said he was shocked by the league's decision to start the season in the days leading up to Christmas and was expecting to begin the year in January, but has "just started preparing my mind and preparing my body," per Medina.

Before he was traded to Oklahoma City in exchange for Dennis Schroder (eventually landing with the Philadelphia 76ers), Danny Green shared his concern about the veterans on the team, including Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee, along with James (h/t LakersNation.com): 

"To have that quick of a restart, I wouldn’t expect to see him there. "I wouldn’t expect to see him the first month of the season. He’ll probably be working out with us, but I just don’t expect guys to want to be there or show up willingly. It might be different in two weeks."

General manager Rob Pelinka also spoke about the possibility of limiting James in an effort to focus on his health:

"That will just be a balancing act throughout the season of kind of recognizing there was an extremely short layoff between a championship and start of the season, and kind of figuring out what’s best for LeBron, what’s best for his health, our team’s health, what’s best for the league, and kind of walking that carefully and thoughtfully throughout the year."

The star, who turns 36 on Dec. 30, signed a two-year, $85 million extension with the Lakers on Wednesday, which will keep him in Los Angeles until he turns 38. Per Medina, he hasn't considered when he'll retire, but he may be in a position to play at the same time as his son Bronny, who is a sophomore in high school.