*LeBron James is stepping away from the Los Angeles Lakers for personal reasons and the hiatus comes amid rumors that he is linked to the controversial Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sexual assault case.
“LeBron is not with the team right now,” Lakers coach JJ Redick told reporters on Wednesday, according to ESPN. “He’s out for personal reasons, excused absence.”
James sat out the Portland Trail Blazers game Wednesday due to “left foot soreness,” Redick said. It was the first game the NBA icon missed all season. Redick said LeBron is currently “taking some time.”
ESPN reports that James will not return for Friday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The outlet writes: “It would give James, who missed Sunday’s game with foot soreness, eight days in between games if he returns Sunday against Memphis.”
“All of this is very fluid,” Redick said about James’ absence. “All of it is. All of it is. That’s what’s crystallized.”
Lakers backup center Christian Koloko said James is “going to come back and he’s still going to be the same.”
“He’s going to give everything on the court,” he added.
“We just got to do our part and just get better so that when he comes back, he can just look at us and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, [they] were actually working,’ when he wasn’t there. But we know he’ll come back and just pick up everything. He’s been in the NBA for a long time.”
Redick said, “For us, we have to be cognizant as we play more and more games, just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes, and Sunday, being banged up with the foot thing, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest.”
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