Klutch already had a presence with the Lakers before James signed. The purported young core of the Lakers could never get too comfortable. From then on, there were rampant rumors that AD would eventually end up in LA. Just a few short months after he signed with Los Angeles, Klutch Sports - the agency run by his close friend Rich Paul - announced its own major signing: Anthony Davis. Maybe James knew something the public didn’t when he selected the Lakers. It only took two years for him to make it happen. James knew the Lakers had the big market, the weather, and the tradition to get back to the NBA’s mountain top. LeBron never seemed bothered by any of it. James was leaving the easier path in the Eastern Conference for the much more difficult West. The Lakers had the won the fewest games in the NBA during the previous five seasons before they signed LeBron. zgz8YO7BPn- Klutch Sports Group July 2, 2018 Read it again and it also seems teeming with confidence. It was a simple and understated way to report that perhaps the greatest player of all-time was joining perhaps the proudest franchise in league history. Instead, his agency issued a short press release announcing the move. James didn’t throw a party touting how many championships he would win when he selected the Lakers like he once did in Miami. No one has ushered in the NBA’s so-called “player empowerment era” quite like James, from his decision sign with the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010, to his choice to return to Cleveland four years later, to his commitment to the Lakers four years after that. James has never shied away from writing his own story. Davis was always going to be a Laker, not because the organization had the most assets or the best trade offer on the table, but because that’s what LeBron James wanted. In reality, it would only be a matter of time until Ingram and Ball were on a plane to New Orleans for the next chapter of their careers. Diddy’s “Bad Boys for Life.” You probably know the chorus of that song: “we ain’t going nowhere.” The day the trade deadline passed, Ingram’s teammate Lonzo Ball was seen in the locker room playing the P. The trade deadline was just two days away, and Davis’ current team, the New Orleans Pelicans, seemed hellbent on keeping him away from the Lakers. Ingram was highly aware of Anthony Davis’ trade request at that point, as well as the star big man’s preference to end up in Los Angeles next to James. As Ingram stepped to the line, the home fans in Indiana started chanting “LeBron’s Gonna Trade You.” Brandon Ingram was going to the foul line to shoot two free throws in an otherwise trivial February game against the Indiana Pacers when he was reminded about his real value to the Los Angeles Lakers.
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