Los Angeles Lakers president Magic Johnson stated that he doesn't want the Lakers' offensive scheme to resemble the Cleveland Cavaliers' schemes of old, with LeBron James being the primary ballhandler and expected to spray the ball out to teammates from the post (high or low) and on drive-and-kicks.
Making an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio Thursday, Johnson — whose hiring is thought to have been a major factor in James' decision to sign with Los Angeles in July — has expressed his frustrations with the Lakers' offense resembling Cleveland's (via ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk):
“We are trying to make sure that we watch his minutes but also that we don't run everything through him because now it is Cleveland all over again and we don't want that,” Johnson said in an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “We want to get up and down.”
More, per Youngmisuk:
While the Cavaliers surrounded James with shooters to take advantage of James' playmaking strengths, the Lakers wanted to go in a different direction by adding players who could create their own shots and opportunities for others and not have to depend so much on James.
The Lakers have been without Rajon Rondo for nine games, and so it seems like it was only a matter of time before James started to take more responsibility for the Lakers' playmaking, as he has with every other team he has been on. Rondo, a veteran and a player considered to be one of the most intelligent in the league, is undoubtedly the best floor general James has ever played with, and his ability to coordinate the offense allows James to feel comfortable taking a backseat.
Like a concerned father, James doesn't feel that same level of comfort in handing over the reins of the offense to the Lakers' young stars, like Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, though they each showed an ability to be dynamic players with the ball in their hands last season. For the Lakers to return to an offensive system where James plays more off-ball, they either have to force him to accept the young players having a greater responsibility within the offense or wait for Rondo's return.
Either way, what made the prospect of James joining Los Angeles interesting was the idea that using slashers rather than shooters was the way to defeat the Golden State Warriors and what inevitably turns into a small-ball lineup when the Warriors want their best players on the floor. For that concept to be realized, James has to play more off-ball, no matter how it happens.
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