"Six months had passed since Smith had slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Now Smith was participating in a series of celebrity talks to the Lakers, an innovation brought in by general manager Rob Pelinka. According to the book, James asked Smith question after question until a scheduled half-hour visit had ballooned to nearly twice that amount, with fellow Laker Russell Westbrook growing visibly frustrated, frowning in a team photo with Smith."
"You get to see the personal, intra-office dynamics that impact the game that you don't always think about, Weitzman says of the scene. He notes that those who've read the excerpt seem to be cheering on Westbrook and latching on to the idea that it was LeBron's fault, LeBron was a phony. He points out that Westbrook has played for multiple NBA teams, and in LA, he was awful on the court, hardheaded, no willingness to adjust his game."
Will Smith visited the Los Angeles Lakers' film room in 2022, six months after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. LeBron James asked Smith numerous questions, stretching a scheduled half-hour visit to nearly an hour while Russell Westbrook grew visibly frustrated and frowned in a team photo. The incident reveals personal, intra-office dynamics that can affect on-court performance. Westbrook had played for multiple teams and struggled in Los Angeles, showing a hardheaded style and little willingness to adjust. LeBron is presented as the defining athlete of his generation. The LeBron–Lakers pairing drew intense attention due to Hollywood proximity and a championship legacy from Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, with Phil Jackson coaching the latter championships.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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