LeBron James update: Everything we know about LeBron's foot injury and excused absence

Yesterday, ESPN reported that LeBron James was taking time away from the Los Angeles Lakers due to personal reasons, and now a nagging foot injury might keep him out of tomorrow's game.

First-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick said, "LeBron is not with the team right now. He's out for personal reasons, excused absence," although he did not provide many details beyond that.

Also according to ESPN, Redick gave his players the day off on Monday and let them use Tuesday as an optional day for recovery, rest, whatever the players needed. The NBA season is a slog, and a mental rest day like this is a smart move by a rookie coach who understands the grind of an NBA slate.

Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like it, share it with an enemy!

Los Angeles hasn't played since Sunday due to the scheduling of the NBA Cup, and will return to the court Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves — but perhaps without James, who is "unlikely to play," according to Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin.

James also missed Sunday's game against Portland, meaning he would have at least 8 days off between games if he does not play Friday.

It's unclear whether LeBron's "excused absence" as Redick phrased said is directly related to a sore foot, but either way, the Lakers head coach doesn't seem overly worried about LeBron stepping away from the team for a brief period.

Plus, LeBron has played 23 games this season; last Sunday was the first game he missed all season. With the way the NBA schedule is set up, it's smart to let James decompress a bit while missing as few games as possible.

A cautious approach is the right way to go for Los Angeles and LeBron James

This man has played in over 1500 NBA games and is approaching his 40th birthday this month. Any pain or discomfort at all should be taken seriously as the Lakers hope to have James down the stretch of the regular season and potentially in the postseason — if Los Angeles cracks the playoffs.

Plus, although the NBA Cup has brought some excitement to November and December basketball, any non-Cup related games being played right now remain mostly low-stakes. LeBron versus Anthony Edwards is always a fun matchup, but a full-strength LeBron in March and April is more important than a mid-December game in Minneapolis.