The Los Angeles Lakers have had some serious struggles through the first half of the 2023-24 NBA season. After starting with a respectable 15-10 record through the first 25 games, LeBron James and company dropped 9 out of 11 between December 15th and January 5th. At their lowest point, they had dropped to 11th place in the Western Conference, and frustrations were obvious and growing.

NBA: LeBron, Davis Out For Tonight’s Game vs Celtics

⌛️

— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 31, 2024

Things have gotten slightly better over the past couple of weeks. Los Angeles has gone 7-6 in their last 13 contests, and are back in the playoff picture while currently sitting as the 9th seed, but it hasn’t been the type of turnaround that James and the rest of the team had been hoping for.

There have been signs of unrest throughout the NBA season. The title of head coach is exactly secure in Darvin Ham’s hands, and there has been speculation and James could force the Lakers to move on to a new leader. Ham has remained thus far, and the organization has been hoping that he could help turn things around, but there hasn’t been the marked improvement that is necessary for him to keep his job.

The frustrations for LeBron James went from being assumed and speculated to actually containing some substance. As the 39-year-old superstar tends to do on a semiregular basis, James sent out a cryptic tweet on Tuesday, which was simply an emoji of an hourglass, perhaps representing that something, or someone, was running out of time.

Perkins Thinks The Absence Is A Message

“And this is a statement to the front office, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss. And this is the attitude that we get from LeBron James every time we get close to the trade deadline.”

—Kendrick Perkins

(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/g4heozjq60

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 1, 2024

On Thursday, it was announced a few hours before game time that both James and Anthony Davis would be out for the night’s contest against the Celtics, one that will be featured on a national TNT broadcast.

It seems like an odd time to take a day off, and NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins believes that the duo is trying to send a message to the team’s front office about their unhappiness with the current situation:

This is a statement to the front office. This is the attitude that we get from LeBron James every time we get close to the trade deadline…This is one of those games that you circle on the calendar…The Celtics and Lakers. LeBron James in the Garden…It’s not like they’re top-6 in the West

A Lakers loss to the Celtics on Thursday combined with a win by the Jazz over the 76ers would push Los Angeles back down into the #10 slot. The Rockets are a full game back, and the Warriors a game and a half.