LeBron James appears to be looking for answers as he leaves the Lakers amid an alarming decline and trade rumors.
“LeBron is not on the team right now.” Reddick told reporters. During practice on Wednesday. “He is absent for personal reasons. I apologize for his absence.”
James had previously set a goal of playing in all 82 games in his age-40 season, but missed Sunday's first game of the season against the Blazers, a 107-98 win.
Reddick added that “it's going to take time” because James has struggled mightily in recent games, going 0-of-20 from beyond the 3-point line.
The event comes during a lull in the Lakers' schedule thanks to the NBA Cup, which leaves them with four days between games, as their next matchup is Friday at Minnesota.
It's unclear whether James will return for that game.
Also on Wednesday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst had this to say about the Warriors: Will “definitely monitor” James' situation They're looking for another star to join Stephen Curry.
With the 82-game dream dashed, the Lakers can rest their greatest forward of all time and focus on using him more strategically.
James had appeared exhausted recently after appearing in all 23 games up to that point, clearly conserving his energy and reducing his defensive efforts.
The latest stats show that James is slowly starting to show his age and it's slowly seeping into his game.
James' stats remained strong, playing 35 minutes per game and posting 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 9.1 assists.
James' net rating of -8.4 is the worst of all Lakers starters and by far the worst of his career.
James also has a career-low turnover rate of 12.5 percent.
Perhaps some time off would be good for everyone, as it would allow the league's oldest team, which just passed the quarter mark for an entire NBA season, to get some time to recover.
The Lakers got off to a promising start with a 10-4 record under Redick, but have lost seven of their past 10 games.
“If anyone wants to go to Santa Barbara for a few nights and relax, that's fine,” Reddick said after the Blazers game.
