One day after their hard-fought loss to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals — which encapsulated a resilient season — the Los Angeles Lakers, sans LeBron James, held exit interviews with vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham. The GM and coach began the day with a joint media session, then each player (excluding Anthony Davis and Shaquille Harrison) spoke to reporters.

Here were the key news and notes from Tuesday's proceedings at the UCLA Health Training Center.

1. Reaction to LeBron

LeBron capped his season by playing 48 minutes and dropping 40-10-9 on a torn foot — a performance Pelinka called “breathtaking.” About an hour after the buzzer, LeBron said he might retire.

Pretty much everybody was asked about it. D'Angelo Russell deflected. Tristan Thompson chuckled and called LeBron “one of the biggest competitors I know.” Dennis Schroder — who likes to divulge intel on LeBron — said the 38-year-old has plenty left in the tank.

“To retire and the last game in the playoffs you make 40, 10, and 9? I think you still got juice to play a couple more years,” Dennis said. “Whatever he decides, he’s played 20 years. We’re going to support him. I’m going to support him. Hopefully, he comes back.”

Pelinka similarly expressed hope that LeBron will continue to play professional basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Coach and I will speak to LeBron in the coming days,” said Pelinka. “We all know he speaks for himself. And we look forward to those conversations when the time is right. I will say this: LeBron has given as much to the game of basketball as anyone who’s ever played. When you do that, you earn a right to decide whether you’re going to give more. Sometimes we put athletes, entertainers on a pedestal, but they’re humans. They have inflection points in their careers. Our job as a Lakers organization is to support any player on our team if they reach a career inflection point. LeBron is surrounded by incredible people. His family first, Savannah, his kids. He’s got a great management team led by Rich and Maverick. I’m sure he’ll have conversations with them in the coming days. We’ll be in contact with him, his team, and really providing nothing but support for him. Obviously, our hope would be that his career continues, but we just want to give him the time to have that inflection point and support him along the way in everything he does.”

Ham thanked LeBron for his communication and contributions, on behalf of the coaching staff.

2. Continuity wins championships … right?

LeBron's sentiments may be genuine, considering the miles on his odometer and the toll this season put on his body (he will get an MRI to determine if he needs foot surgery). Ham joked that he, too, wanted to retire after the Game 4 loss.

LeBron is as media-savvy and calculating as any athlete, ever. His decision to publicly ponder retirement and go all cryptic about the team's ceiling in 2023-24 could reasonably be perceived as the first move in an offseason power play — perhaps to pressure the Lakers' into sacrificing depth for Kyrie Irving or Klutch client Trae Young, each of whom sat courtside at Crypto for two games in the playoffs.

The morning after LeBron's comments, Pelinka (after sharing kind words for the coaching staff) delivered a monologue about the value of continuity.

“After the trade deadline, we had one of the top records in the league. Keeping that continuity is going to be very important. We ultimately got knocked out by a team that has great continuity, that’s got a group of players that’s been together for several seasons, and it shows in the way they play. That’s a high priority for us. We feel like we’ve got a group of special players in the locker room. They enjoy playing with each other. Darvin enjoys coaching them. We know there’s more growth and improvement in that group, especially if we get a training camp together. So, I would say that’s a high priority, to keep our core players together.”

The Lakers are facing a third consecutive summer of roster upheaval. Only LeBron, AD, and Max Christie are locked into contracts. The Lakers have the No. 17 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That pick, and everybody else on the roster, is a candidate to be renounced, re-signed, or traded.

Pelinka described the season as one of tremendous “growth.” He said he told Ham before their exit interview that “campaign No. 2 starts today.” Ham emphasized the “step-by-step” approach to team-building. All of that is moot if the Lakers totally shake things up again.

This tension has existed between LeBron and the Lakers' brass for a few years. Depth and development vs. streamlining and star-power. Kyrie is a better fit on paper than Russell Westbrook, but LeBron and the Lakers should have learned their lesson. Basketball is played on hardwood.

The Lakers have about five weeks to make a choice: A team that resembles those that won the 2020 title and just made the 2023 conference finals, or a top-heavy squad with LeBron, AD, Star X, Austin Reaves, and minimum contract guys.

3. Austin Reaves' future

No. 1 on the offseason to-do list is re-signing their prized restricted free agent. After the All-Star break, the 24-year-old established himself as the team’s third-best player, averaging 16.5 points on .577/.456/.843 shooting splits. He was a killer in the playoffs. LeBron repeatedly deferred to him in pivotal moments.

The Lakers can initially offer Reaves $50.8 million over four years. He'll receive more lucrative, backloaded offers from teams with cap space, maybe even as much as $98 million. Pelinka couldn't specifically speak on Reaves' free agency per CBA rules, but he strongly indicated the Lakers' intention to pony up the cash.

“I would say this resoundingly clear: Our intentions our to keep our young core together … We want to do our best to fit the puzzle together … Austin, in particular, had an incredible year. I think he defines what's at the heart of playing for the Lakers. He's a selfless, team-first guy. He lives in the gym. He loves the big moment. He's been able to meet the big moment. I think he's the guy that, regardless of what his deal is, it won't change him as a person. And we'll hang our hat on that.”

The undrafted kid from Arkansas reiterated his preference to stay in Los Angeles.

“I wanna be here. This feels like home to me. … The way the fans support me, the players, coaching staff, front office, this is definitely somewhere I wanna be.”

4. DLo hyped himself up

Russell performed adequately for the Lakers from the deadline through the first two playoff rounds. The Lakers don't make the conference finals without him. On the other hand, a few missed games in March (after being listed as “probable”) raised some eyebrows. He averaged 6.3 points on 10-for-31 shooting in the conference finals and was benched in Game 4 — a demotion he called “tough to agree with.”

The 27-year-old impending free agent seeking $100 million deemed his second stint with the Lakers a “complete success.” He said he would “love to be here.”

“Honestly, it's been a great time,” he said. “It's been a great experience. To come back and be in this position, as prepared as I was, give myself a pat on the back for that one. Being able to adjust and just get thrown into the fire and trying to figure it out on the fly and make the Western Conference Finals. Complete success. I really can't complain about anything, besides the ball going in when I wanted it to. But, other than that I enjoyed my time. It was what it was.” (Was?)

On jelling with the Lakers midseason, he struck a similar chord.

“I just think honestly it just goes to what type of player I am to just be able to adjust to a completely different brand of basketball of what I came from in Minnesota and still have some success and be relevant out there with these guys. I just give praise to my IQ and my study of the game, just knowing how to prepare myself for what I was about to walk into mentally and physically to kind of recognize that and activate it. I give myself another pat on the back for that.”

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Russell was asked how he can refine his game after the unfortunate conference finals, in which he posted a team-worst -24.8 net rating.

“At this point in your career, to be honest, I feel like you’re you. And I’m nice. I’m not worried about my game. I know who I am as a player. I know what I’m capable of. I can win games. I can be better than your point guard. I can be better than your shooting guard … I don’t think I’m gonna get better going right. I’m not gonna be fast enough to break your best defender down in an iso. That’s not my game. But just continue to study what I already have, my spots where I get shots, where I’m aggressive. Just understanding those spots more. And I think that’s where I get better.”

Russell is a quality player whom the Lakers could reasonably consider giving $20-25 million annually (for two years?). Maybe that's the right call, maybe not.

5. Wenyen Gabriel

The late-season infusion of Gabriel was a bright spot amid a dour 2021-22 season. He held his own this season as the backup center, averaging 13.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per 36 minutes. The 26-year-old is an energizer bunny with an unceasing work ethic. His role was diminished in the playoffs, but he's improving.

More importantly, his humanitarian work deserves a shoutout. Gabriel was a finalist for the 2022-23 Kennedy Award, which rewards dedication to community service as voted on by the Professional Basketball Writers Association. The South Sudan native is deeply committed to developing businesses, hospitals, schools, athletic facilities, etc. in his country. He plans to travel to Guinea with Detroit Pistons guard Hamidou Diallo next week, though his usual summer camp in Sudan may not happen due to the war.

On Tuesday, he discussed his intent to “galvanize” fellow refugees and help “bring our country up.”

Wenyen Gabriel makes the Lakers, the NBA, and the world a better place.

A few other notes from exit interviews, each of which you can watch on the Lakers' YouTube channel:

  • Max Christie confirmed he'll play Summer League. He shared with ClutchPoints what Ham and Pelinka told him he needs to do this offseason to become a mainstay in the rotation. He told me he would've been ready if thrust into the conference finals. Look for the 20-year-old to play a significant role in 2023-24.
  • Mo Bamba said his goal this summer is to turn his body into a “tank.”
  • Lonnie Walker IV, always profound, told me that studying the wings who were getting minutes ahead of him during the second half of the season helped teach him how to be a winning player. Lonnie called this season a “very defining moment of his career” and now believes he has what it takes to “be something in this league.”
  • Rui Hachimura called his three months with the Lakers the “best time of my life” and thinks “it will be great for my career.”
  • Malik Beasley said he played pickup with LeBron at LeBron's summer camp when he was in high school and watched AD drop “50 and 20” (it was 50 and 15) in his NBA debut. Beasley said he was awed during the national anthem before his first game in Los Angeles when he realized he was standing next to Davis.
  • Predictably, Reaves said he doesn't care about cars or clothes but will splurge on golf club memberships plus whatever his family needs when he gets a new contract. He “accidentally” ranked golf over family.