Pelinka: Lakers grateful for run with LeBron, exit 'done amicably'

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said LeBron James' decision to leave the franchise this summer was "done amicably" and that the Lakers remain thankful for their time with the all-time great.

"I thought it would be appropriate at the front to express gratitude for the LeBron era here," Pelinka said Thursday before a season-opening news conference alongside Lakers coach JJ Redick.

"Clearly, new team and new players, and that's what we're going to talk about today. But we as an organization are still grateful for the run that we had with him here."

Thursday's news conference was two months to the day since James agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers and an occasion for Pelinka to share his first remarks about James' departure.

"The Lakers have become -- as they should -- a perennial playoff team," Pelinka continued, looking back at James' eight years in L.A. "Won a championship, went to the Western Conference finals. It was a great era, and we're grateful for it. I think it's important to say that at the onset as we turn into a new chapter."

James' longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, informed the Lakers about eight hours before the official start of free agency on June 30 that his client would be seeking a new team.

The decision was an about-face from James' previous public stance during NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis in February 2024.

"I am a Laker and I'm happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years and hopefully it stays that way," James said at the time.

James' choice also came after Pelinka publicly lobbied to bring James back during an exit interview news conference with reporters in May following the Lakers' second-round exit against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"LeBron, we probably haven't seen a player that has honored the game to the extent that he's honored the game," Pelinka said May 12. "He's given so much to his teammates, to this organization. And the thing we want to do more than anything else is honor him back. ... Any team, including ours, would love to have LeBron James on their roster."

Pelinka was asked, considering those statements from James and the Lakers in the past, why he thinks the 41-year-old star is now in Philadelphia.

"Again, we're grateful for the LeBron era," Pelinka said. "I think the communications with him this offseason were held diplomatically, professionally and honestly. I'm so thankful for the partnership that we had that continued up until this summer when a decision was made for him to play for another team. It was done amicably, professionally, gracefully. We looked at the whole thing with gratitude, because it's been an incredible era for us here."

Redick, James' former "Mind the Game" podcast co-host before stepping onto the Lakers' sidelines, did not specifically address the four-time champion's departure. Redick already showed public support for James, however, shortly after James informed L.A. he would be leaving by showing up to James' live taping of "Mind the Game" with Tyrese Haliburton at Fanatics Fest in New York in July.

Redick did endorse L.A.'s roster construction once James left, though.

"I think with this group, probably the first time in my three years here that I feel like the pieces actually fit together," Redick said.

Other than a series of tweets thanking the Lakers after announcing the Sixers as his fourth -- and final -- team he will play for before retirement, James has yet to elaborate on his L.A. exit.

Fans will not have to wait much longer to hear James' side of things. A new episode of "Mind the Game" is scheduled to be released Friday. In an Instagram post teasing the release, James' co-host, Steve Nash, asks him, "How did you come to Philly? What led to saying, like, 'That's my destination'?"

James also will address reporters for the first time since his decision when the Sixers hold their annual media day Monday in Camden, New Jersey.