What LeBron needs to return to L.A. — and why it’s not simple

WITH ICE BAGS wrapped around both knees and slide sandals on his feet, LeBron James made a right turn out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room and beelined to the exit at Crypto.com Arena.

It was March 31, and the Lakers had just completed arguably their most impressive win of the season with a 127-113 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The victory avenged a 30-point loss to the Cavs on Jan. 28 and capped a 32-day stretch in which L.A. went 16-2 to surge up the Western Conference standings.

The win was the 1,229th of James’ career and moved him past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most victories by any player in NBA history (combined regular season and playoffs). Not to mention, it came on a night when Luka Doncic topped 15,000 career points and Rui Hachimura reached 5,000.

Still, James’ celebratory mood didn’t last long.

Lakers coach JJ Redick had announced all the individual accomplishments in the postgame locker room, eliciting a cascading round of applause by L.A. players and assistant coaches.

And then Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations and general manager, addressed the team. He had the game ball in his hands.

Rather than hand it to Hachimura or Doncic or James, Pelinka walked to the front of the room and presented the ball to Redick, who had just presided over his 100th coaching win.

James has a “great” relationship with Redick, sources close to him say — with one telling ESPN that Redick’s hiring is “one thing the Lakers got right.”

But James, who played the past eight seasons in Los Angeles and helped deliver the franchise its 17th championship in 2020, saw Pelinka’s priority in that moment as yet another example of the Lakers taking him for granted, sources said.

Adding to James’ ire, sources said, was…