A few years ago, the relationship of LeBron James and Stephen Curry appeared to improve from the peak of their rivalry when they met in The Finals in four straight seasons. 

James may have had an ulterior motive thinking he could recruit Curry to the Los Angeles Lakers when it looked like the Golden State Warriors might be unable to reload into a title contender. Curry's contract status was also in doubt amongst some within the league before he signed a four-year, $215 million extension in 2021.

"There was some wonder about whether Curry would take that last contract with Golden State," said Brian Windhorst on The Bill Simmons Podcast. "Now, look, there ended up being zero point zero drama. The Warriors offered the full boat, but he had some injury issues. The Warriors were looking at a $400 million payroll. Nobody was sure they were going to do it, but I thought he was, you know, giving him the wink, wink and was like 'Hey, you know, if you don't take that last contract you can come down to the Lakers.'

"That's what happened with Kyrie [Irving]. When Kyrie was heading toward free agency and it was clear he wasn't going to stay in Boston, LeBron all of a sudden, the two of them kind of mended that fence. And I think it was based on that, the concept of playing together again in L.A. It didn't work out. It didn't happen."

LeBron James signed an extension with the Los Angeles Lakers this past offseason, which represents at least a six-year commitment to the franchise. James spent only four seasons with the Miami Heat before returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers for another four-year stint. 

James has clearly built a life for himself in Los Angeles beyond basketball.

"I think he's making a decision, which by the way, he has every right to, he's making a decision like this is where I want to be at the end of my career," said Brian Windhorst on The Bill Simmons Podcast. "He was never totally comfortable in Miami. As soon as the season ended, he was out of there back to Akron. 

"Maybe even if he played in L.A. at that time of his life, that would have been the way he was. He was never comfortable there. He's comfortable in L.A. His roots are in."

Anthony Davis said that a wrist injury he suffered last January contributed to his shooting struggles.

"A lot of people don't know this, but since January I was battling a wrist injury the whole year. So it was affecting my shot and everything. That's not an excuse but it was tough for me to shoot how I wanted to shoot. I couldn't really follow through.

"I couldn't follow through. Anytime I followed through it was very painful," said Davis on Wednesday.

Davis, who missed 42 games last season due to injury, shot 18.6% from the three-point line.

The Lakers as a team ranked 22nd in the league from three.

Davis added that he was fully healthy and shooting the ball well heading into this season.

"I'm 100 percent healthy. I feel great. You can ask guys around here, I'm really shooting the ball. So, I'll be ready. Wherever coach puts me on the floor, midrange, post, perimeter, if I've got a shot, I'm going to shoot it."

The Los Angeles Lakers have two attractive trade assets available to them in their first round picks in 2027 and 2029, which they have yet to use to upgrade their roster.

"I've been told that, listen, had the Lakers been able to acquire Kyrie Irving," said Dave McMenamin on Brian Windhorst's podcast. "Or the Lakers been able to acquire Donovan Mitchell, both those players, the Lakers were willing to able to move both those picks to acquire.

"The deals available to them, they didn't feel like they could get back a player that is such a difference maker like either of those two."

The Lakers have also been linked with trade scenarios involving Buddy Hield and Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers. 

The Brooklyn Nets decided not to trade Irving, while the Utah Jazz received far more draft capital for Mitchell from the Cleveland Cavaliers than the Lakers could trade.

Rob Pelinka confirmed that the Los Angeles Lakers are prepared to trade their first round picks in 2027 and 2029 if the right deal comes along.

LeBron James chose to extend with the Lakers in the offseason and Pelinka is prepared to fulfill their end of the bargain to maximize their odds of contending.

"Let me be abundantly clear: We have one of the great players in LeBron James to ever play the game, and he committed to us on a long-term contract, a three-year contract," Pelinka said. "So of course, we will do everything we can, picks included, to make deals to give us a chance to help LeBron get to the end. He committed to our organization. That's got to be a bilateral commitment, and it's there."

Dennis Schroder is "working through visa issues" in Germany and may not report to training camp until next week, according to Rob Pelinka.

Schroder recently signed a veteran's minimum contract with the Lakers following his performance at EuroBasket. 

Anthony Davis said that he was approaching this season with the Los Angeles Lakers with an underdog mentality during media day.

"We're treating this season like we have a chip on our shoulder. We're the underdogs ... they're not talking about us, and that's fine. You know, we'd rather be under the radar," said Davis. 

The Lakers failed to make the playoffs last season, with Davis missing 42 games due to knee and ankle injuries.

Davis admitted his struggles but vowed to be more aggressive heading into this year.

"Be more aggressive. I started getting in my own head a lot last year. I don't think a lot of people know that ... Just knowing how much better I could have been."

Russell Westbrook knows his role with the Los Angeles Lakers may be different from the one he's had for most of his career. But Westbrook says that doesn't matter to him.

"I'm all-in on whatever it takes for this team to win," Westbrook said. "I'm prepared for whatever comes my way."

Westbrook also said he doesn't need to feel wanted by the Lakers. He's going to do his job, whether he's wanted or not.

"I don't need to," Westbrook told ESPN. "I need to just do my job. Whether I'm wanted or not doesn't really matter. I think the most important thing is that I show up for work and I do the job like I've always done it: Be professional and go out and play my ass off and compete."

The Los Angeles Lakers are set to sign Matt Ryan to a non-guaranteed deal, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Ryan was on a two-way deal with the Celtics last season.

The team is also working on a training camp deal with Dwayne Bacon.

The Los Angeles Lakers enter the 22-23 season with an excess of depth at the point guard position in Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and now Dennis Schroder.

Sources tell Marc Stein of Substack that the Lakers, however, internally view Beverley as a 3-and-D wing rather than a point guard at this stage of his career. The Lakers view Westbrook and Schroder as their nominal point guards, while Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, Austin Reaves and Lonnie Walker IV are wings. 

The Lakers of course also have LeBron James to handle a significant portion of ball handling duties.