LeBron James, who is battling an unprecedented drop-off, is leaving the Lakers for "personal reasons."

 

As he leaves the Lakers in the midst of a concerning slump and circulating trade speculations, LeBron James seems to be looking for answers.

“LeBron is not with the team right now,” Redick told reporters while at practice on Wednesday. “He’s out for personal reasons, excused absence.”

James missed his first game of the season on Sunday against the Blazers — a 107-98 victory — after previously setting a goal to play all 82 in his age-40 season.

Redick added that James would “take some time” after struggling mightily in his last few games, including an 0-for-20 stretch from beyond the 3-point line.

James's return for that game is uncertain.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst stated on Wednesday that the Warriors will "definitely monitor" James' condition as they search for a star to join Stephen Curry.


The Lakers can now rest their all-time great forward and use him more wisely as the 82-game pipe dream is over.

After participating in all 23 games thus far, James has recently seemed worn out, obviously conserving energy and playing less defensively.

James' advanced statistics indicate that he is gradually becoming older, and this is showing in his play.

 James continues to have outstanding counting figures, averaging 35 minutes per game, 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 9.1 assists.

James' net rating of -8.4 is by far the lowest of his career and the lowest of any Lakers starter.


James also has a career-worst turnover ratio of 12.5%.

Given that the NBA season is already only a fourth old, perhaps everyone will benefit from a little downtime as the league's oldest team recovers.

After a strong 10–4 start under Redick, the Lakers had dropped seven of their last ten games.