NBA Rumors: LeBron retirement a diversion, Giannis’ coach pick, Pistons godfather offer rebuffed

NBA Rumors: Did LeBron James bring up retirement to distract from Lakers sweep?

Though it could be said that the Los Angeles Lakers going from the Play-In Tournament to reaching the Western Conference Finals, dispatching the Grizzlies and Warriors to get there too, was an overachievement in itself, it could’ve been a media circus around the team after they were swept by the Denver Nuggets.

Instead, the conversation immediately became about LeBron James and the possibility that the 38-year-old superstar would be considering retirement this offseason. And at least one NBA executive is suggesting that was all part of his plan.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report asked one Western Conference exec about his thoughts on LeBron potentially retiring. This was the response Pincus received:

"“He’ll suit up next year. He just changed the conversation. Now we’re not talking about a sweep; we’re talking about LeBron and retirement. He loves to control the narrative.”"

Is there validity to that or is that just one executive’s read on the situation? It’s impossible to say — but it does make perfect sense.

Because of James’ high-profile nature over the past two decades, expectations have long been skewed for him and his teams, be it the Lakers or otherwise. So it would be incredibly savvy of him to distract the media from his team ultimately achieving more than should’ve been expected of them by bringing up a possible retirement.

And if that was the goal, it most definitely worked. We’ve heard little about the sweep, and everything about what LeBron James’ next move might be.