LeBron James’ retirement talk likely a push to get Lakers to build a champion

LeBron James shook up the sports world Monday night by just intimating that he’s considering retirement, by simply saying he’s “got to think about it.”

We have to respect the NBA’s all-time leading scorer by taking him at his word. James — as methodical and calculating as any athlete of his generation — always thinks about everything. But he surely thought about how his comments would land, so who were they intended for?

James’ stated plan has been to continue for another two years, so that he can play alongside his son Bronny after a year at USC.

But plans change. James is just 548 minutes behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes logged in league history — and in all that time, he’d never broached retirement until Monday. But we have to remember, this wasn’t just any Monday.

“Coming off a tough loss like that, the work we’ve put in this season, I think I was ready to retire after last night, too,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham joked Tuesday.

James had just poured his heart, soul and 40 points into an elimination game, playing on a bad foot. The Lakers’ star had just survived a physical battle against Memphis, gutted out an emotional win over the Warriors and lost a draining duel with Denver. And all at the age of 38, when his contemporaries are disappearing.

Longtime pal Carmelo Anthony had retired earlier that day. Tom Brady had already ridden off into a sunset free of sacks and blindside hits. Asking an aging athlete moments after their season ended if they’re returning is a journalistic necessity, but it’s also the exactly the wrong time for physically and emotionally drained players to truly know.

Athletes often vow they’re retiring, only to return. Others walk away for good at the peak of their powers (the recently-deceased Jim Brown did it the same year he won MVP and led the NFL in rushing, and Barry Sanders was a year removed from MVP).

“LeBron has given as much to the game of basketball as anyone who’s ever played,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said. “And when you do that, you earn a right to decide whether you’re going to give more.”

It may be James’ passive-aggressive way of getting the Lakers to give more. Anthony Davis to put in more summer sweat equity. Pelinka to get him more help.

James has long ago perfected the art of holding the hammer of his departure over his teams to force win-now moves. Retirement is just the latest iteration of that.

A month from now, the Lakers will be making some huge decisions, and James likely wants to have if not control over them, at least a say in them. He might not be saying to get Kyrie Irving, but he’s surely saying to get better.

Irving, who demanded a trade from the Nets this February and got shipped to Dallas, is a free agent-to-be. The guard sat courtside at several Lakers playoff games, including Monday’s finale. Since last summer James has reportedly pushed the team to acquire Irving; this could be more of a shove.

James and Irving spent three seasons together in Cleveland, reaching the NBA Finals in each one (winning in 2016 on Irving’s iconic shot). A Hollywood reunion wouldn’t be Irving having to create something with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn (or Luka Doncic in Dallas) but simply recreate magic he already had with James.

But Irving, eligible for a deal starting at $47 million, would need to take a huge pay cut to join the Lakers, after refusing even a modest salary reduction in Brooklyn. They’d have to wave goodbye to Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley to generate even $30 million in cap space.

That’s a Grand Canyon-sized gap, but surely James knows it’s not Irving or bust for the Lakers. They could pursue Fred VanVleet, whose agent, Rich Paul, represents both James and Davis. There are other options they can afford, and avenues to improve. Which could be the message: If not get Kyrie, get better.

Sure, James will think about his future. He always does.

But this could be about forcing the Lakers into thinking the same.