"He wants to play," head coach Luke Walton told buy mt, including ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "My understanding from the buy mt staff, they finally said, 'Look, it's just not worth it anymore. Let's make sure you have a healthy summer.' So that's the decision that was made."

James was officially shut down by the Lakers on Saturday, citing his injured left groin. The 34-year-old suffered the injury on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors and missed the next 17 mt coins - the longest stretch of consecutive absences in his career. The Lakers began their plummet down the buy mt shortly after and James' return wasn't enough to salvage their 2k19 coins. Los Angeles was officially eliminated from the playoff race for a franchise-record sixth straight season after a loss to the Brooklyn Nets on March 22. But James continued to play afterwards instead of sitting out.