LeBron James reportedly was not in contact with Lakers coach Luke Walton during his free-agency decision-making process—and it appears the two have not spoken yet. That interesting nugget comes from Yahoo's Jordan Schultz.
This isn't hugely surprising. LeBron likely did not factor the Lakers' head coach that heavily into his decision, and a previous report from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne stated LeBron had no interest in hearing pitches from potential suitors. The man knew he (and his team) could make his decision without any elaborate recruiting.
It is somewhat noteworthy, however, that LeBron and Walton have still had "zero contact." You'd think one would at least reach out to the other with a quick text like, "Excited to get to work!" But King James has been on vacation, and he's probably still exhausted from a grueling 2018 postseason—we can let the man live.
Walton and James were in the same draft (2003), and Walton is only five years LBJ's senior. James went No. 1 in that draft, while Walton went No. 32. The latter spent the bulk of his playing career (nine of 10 years) with the Lakers, and the team hired him as its head coach in 2016. He's had an up-and-down tenure in that role.
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