Playing With LeBron James Is 'Hard' For Some Players, Paul George Says

Paul George believes it is hard for some players to play alongside LeBron James amid speculation that many potential high-profile free agents are considering against joining the Los Angeles Lakers.

George's comments are from an ESPN The Magazine story where he was asked about the learning curve to playing alongside Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook is regarded as an unpredictable player, which is why some like playing with him, while others prefer playing against him. But for George, the same can be said about many other players in the league, more so with James.

"You could say that about a lot of guys," George said. "LeBron is the best player in our league, but some people have a hard time playing with him. One thing you can't say about Russ is that he's not ready or he's not prepared. That's him every night."

While that might be the case, George's comments are particularly interesting because of recent reports surrounding the Lakers and their quest for a high-profile free agent next year.

It is no secret that the Los Angeles franchise are looking to add a marquee star, however, it is beginning to look increasingly unlikely because of James.

According to Kevin O'Connor of the Ringer earlier this month, there were "whispers" around the league that neither Kawhi Leonard nor Jimmy Butler, both of whom can become unrestricted free agents next summer, want to play with the 33-year-old.

Before he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, Leonard was initially favored to move to the Lakers as well, however, ESPN later reported he no longer wanted to because he did not want to play second fiddle to James.

Butler, meanwhile, imagined playing for the Lakers at one point, but the arrival of James made it less appealing for him, according to ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski last month.

Then there's George himself, who was expected to join the Lakers as a free agent earlier this summer but instead made the surprising decision to re-sign with the Thunder.

While things could change in a year's time, it does seem like the presence of James is a major factor right now. One player who has definitely had his fair share of "hard time" playing alongside the Akron native is Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love.

"Well, it depends on whether we're talking about a perimeter player or a post player," Love said earlier this month when asked what he would tell someone about playing with James. "You have to follow. You have to learn a lot about that."

Although Love won a ring alongside James in 2016, he had his low moments which included being mocked on social media as well as being berated on the court. He also had to make massive changes to his game compared to his time as the star of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Despite all this, he would still recommend the prospect of playing alongside the three-time champion.

"You have to be resilient. I had a lot of hard nights. There were dark times," Love added. "But I always believed keep fighting, I was stubborn about it. And LeBron makes sure you have a chance to win every year. He's gotten a lot of guys rings. You're going to win at the highest level. We won and we bonded and we're going to continue this brotherhood."