Lebron goes for 40+ in his Drew League return, things between he and Russ are getting tense... and what's going on with Blake Griffin?

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THE OFFSEASON

Lebron James shines in Drew League return, Kyrie Irving no-shows

Lebron James scored 42 points in his much anticipated return to the Drew League on Saturday. James teamed up with Demar Derozan who invited him to to play on he and fellow SoCal native Casper Ware's team, the "MMV Cheaters", for a 104-102 win. Kyrie Irving was expected to play in the game before Lebron's, but ultimately ended up being a no-show. Long time Drew League Commissioner Dino Smiley said Irving playing Saturday "sounded like it was going to be a sure bet, but I don't know what happened."

James finished with 42 points on 18-for-36 shooting (2-for-13 from 3), 16 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists. Derozan scored 30 points on 9-for-23 shooting with 14 rebounds.

LAKERS

Report: Lebron James & Russell Westbrook Summer League Scene was "tense"

It's no secret that things between Russell Westbrook and Lebron James have become quite icy recently. According to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group, several people within the Lakers organization acknowledged it was an awkward and tense moment between the Lakers two most high-profile superstars.

“There was one notable exception among the visitors: Russell Westbrook, who sat in the opposite corner of Thomas & Mack Center next to the summer league players, stayed on the far side of James. The two superstar teammates – who as of now are scheduled to play together again come October – made no public acknowledgment of one another before Westbrook left the exhibition at halftime.”

After a turbulent first season in LA, Westbrook is expected to leave the team, and fans made it clear they want him out on Friday, starting 'We Want Kyrie' chants at the arena.

FREE AGENCY

Former 1st overall pick Blake Griffin is still a Free Agent

Former first overall pick Blake Griffin still remains a free agent this offseason. Griffin, the 6x All-Star and 5x All-NBA performer, hasn't been able to find much success in the ladder half of his career after being traded from the Clippers in 2018.

Griffin has played in just 166 out of a possible 410 games since the start of the 2019-2020 season, and hasn't averaged over 20 points per game since 2018-2019.

With teams around the league beginning to fill out the back end of their rosters with minimum-like players, Griffin will likely find himself with a contender on a one year deal.

THE RUMOR MILL

(Jake Fischer) "From my conversations with people in the league, seems pretty clear Kyrie’s accepting the fact that he is overwhelmingly likely to be back in Brooklyn."

(Brandon Rahbar on Russell Westbrook): Imagine being the only employee showing up at your job every day, putting in 100% effort to try to carry an inexperienced staff missing its top two employees, leading your company in every data point and then taking 100% of the blame when your company comes in under projections.

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