LeBron James did more than watch the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Over the weekend he also had his first meeting with Lakers head coach Luke Walton.
The two had only texted since James committed to the Lakers on July 1, as James was out of the country on vacation. They did not speak before James chose the Lakers.
But Walton told ESPN he has been encouraged by their early communication.
“He’s about the team. He’s about doing things the right way, and he’s about winning,” Walton said. “I can work with those qualities.”
Walton, who was selected in the same draft as James, has reached out to several people with ties to the four-time MVP.
Since James signed a four-year, $153.3 million contract with the Lakers, Walton has sought information from some of James’ former coaches and teammates.
“He told me, ‘I have my pen and paper out already. Let’s hear it,'” Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin last week of his initial talk with Walton.
Walton has also reached out to Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and two of James’ former teammates, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, both of whom happen to be friends with Walton.