DENVER — There was a familiar gleam in LeBron James’ eye during his exit interview, not too long after the familiar feeling of being ousted by the reigning kings in the postseason.

He wanted to leave everyone hanging on his every word, on the mere possibility — it’s showtime at the Apollo, only in a back room in Denver, while the dull cheers of Nuggets faithful continued into the night.

“Uhhh, I’m not gonna answer that. Appreciate it,” James replied when asked if this night — an emotionfilled, competitively soaked and ultimately draining night, would be his last as a Los Angeles Laker.

Or rather, if he considered the thought that Game 5 of the Lakers’ firstround series would be his last in a Laker uniform.





If a star wants you around, geriatric or not, you’ll be there. If not, you’ll be gone regardless of true culpability.

It’s the NBA way nowadays, and the Lakers will hold someone responsible for underachieving with high expectations.

“It’s been a hell of a two years, I’ll tell you that,” Ham said. “You want to win that ultimate prize. It seemed like every time we hit a rhythm, somebody, a key piece, would fall out of the lineup. It is what it is, man.”

Davis played a careerhigh 76 games this season and is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, but everyone knows the downside of having him: at a moment’s notice, at the worst possible time, when trying to complete an improbable comeback against the team that’s been your boogeyman, can come up with an injury that can’t be predicted or prevented.

James shares a close friendship with Davis and, of course, an agent in Rich Paul, so Davis knows if recruiting will have to be done, he will gladly step in.
“I'm pretty sure, not even on his mind right now, but pretty sure he'll come talk to me and tell me what's going on before he (goes) public with the decision,” Davis said. “But obviously, it's been a great five seasons with him.”

The individual seasons the Lakers got out of James and Davis probably can’t be duplicated next season, especially from a standpoint of health as they’ll enter next season with more miles following the Summer Olympics.

Are they the team that plowed through and won the inaugural InSeason Tournament? Or the team that sputtered after? Are they the team that finished the season 113 (2310 in last 33, fifth best in the league) before the PlayIn Tournament or the one that couldn’t take advantage of a lethargic defending champion?

The answer usually sits somewhere in the middle, in the gray area.

And the gray area is where James loves to be. The ambiguity. The neverending discussion and platitudes about his greatness. The internal discussions a team must have about what life could be like without James, and the ones that will happen in boardrooms across the NBA, just on the offchance James truly wants to explore free agency to chase Ring No. 5.

And the discussions about what a league could look like if he finally decides to walk away, even if he can still play at an elite level.

It’s all tantalizing, and it can dull some of the pain from watching Aaron Gordon snatch a late rebound away from James’ arms, leading to a Jamal Murray triple in the final minute — which only set the stage for Murray to break the Lakers’ hearts one more time with a runner with 3.6 seconds left.

So James exited the floor, one last time, to the celebration of a team moving on, a team that could again have his competitive blood on their banners.

But he turned the tables again on his way out the building, with a glimmer of intrigue as he left us hanging once again — knowing the conversation is just beginning.