LeBron James offers surprising comments after Lakers miss out on key free agents

LeBron James offers initial comments after the Los Angeles Lakers' inactivity during the offseason thus far.

Heading into the NBA offseason, it was no secret that if the Los Angeles Lakers were going to reemerge next season as a true championship contender in the Western Conference, there needed to be huge upgrades to the roster.

Through the first couple of weeks of the offseason, the Lakers have been quiet on that front. It's not that they haven't tried; they've just struck out in those efforts.

After missing out on some big free-agent names, LeBron has been surprisingly mild with his comments. If nothing else, that's been the most surprising outcome of it all. Maybe that's not how he truly feels but at least from a public standpoint, LeBron is understanding after the Lakers' complete whiffing of their opportunities from the initial free-agency wave.

""It takes two to tango. I think our front office, our coaching staff, they tried to do the job that they wanted to do or tried to get guys to come, and it didn't happen. And that's OK. That's part of the business.""

- LeBron James

How will the Los Angeles Lakers pivot?

There's no question that the early part of this offseason has been disappointing for the Lakers. Not only have they missed out on some of the key free agents, but they've also missed an opportunity to trade for Dejounte Murray, one of their long-rumored trade targets.

While there's still plenty of offseason left for the Lakers to improve the roster, it's not going to be easy. If the Lakers do make an addition before the start of next season, it will have to come via trade. Looking at the trade market, it may not be as robust as perhaps the Lakers had hoped. Of the players that realistically could be traded before the start of next season, the likes of Trae Young, Jerami Grant, and Zach LaVine are at the top of the list. Lauri Markkanen is one name that has continuously popped up too, but I have my hesitations if he'll truly be moved.

Of those players, I'm not sure the Lakers go all-in for any of them. And that could put Los Angeles in a difficult spot moving forward. In theory, the Lakers almost certainly need to make an upgrade before the start of the season. However, they may not view any of those players as "all-in" worthy trade candidates.

It'll be interesting to see how the Lakers' front office approaches the next phase of the offseason. You'd have to think that a trade is coming for Los Angeles. Two questions. How aggressive and/or desperate are the Lakers to make a move? Is the move that they do end up making one that will make a big enough of an impact to catapult the team to contender status?