Lakers Veterans Reportedly Considering Sitting Out Remainder of NBA Season But LeBron James Wants to Play

On Friday evening, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving led a phone call of 80 players to express that he doesn't support the NBA's return-to-play plan at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. While several members of the Los Angeles Lakers, like Kyle Kuzma and Jared Dudley, expressed their desire to return for the playoffs, two of their teammates disagree.

According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Lakers guard Avery Bradley and big man Dwight Howard are considering sitting out for the remainder of the season due to the nationwide social unrest stemming from racial injustice.

However, according to Shams, LeBron James is "not involved in the coalition that wants to sit out games."

During the call, Bradley was vocally behind Irving in his belief that players shouldn't step away from raising awareness for social injustice and police brutality to play in the bubble in Orlando for the purpose of entertaining fans. To be specific, Bradley urged the players to "play chess, not checkers," per Charania.

Howard shared the exact same sentiment, saying that resuming the NBA campaign would be a "distraction" from the ongoing social movements and would prevent them from being "catalysts for change."

Even though Bradley and Howard are not too fond of playing out the season, The Athletic's Sam Amick reports that James believes resuming the season won't affect his ability to inspire "meaningful change in society."

If the season were to resume as planned, don't expect Bradley and Howard to take the court for the "Lake Show."