With the NBA playoffs set to begin Saturday (April 13), there will be no LeBron James for fans to witness doing LeBron things. His first season with the Los Angeles Lakers has come to a close with no postseason appearance. LeBron has spoken about that plenty, but he's now looking ahead to his future. Will that future involve the Los Angeles Lakers, or is James perhaps considering a move to a different team? That becomes a glaring question as LeBron was surprised by Magic Johnson's resignation this past week. As of right now, it seems LeBron has a clear plan in mind.

In addition, he thinks people need to stop with those Kobe Bryant comparisons they keep making.

LeBron wants another title, comparisons to stop

In the past week, the Los Angeles Lakers lost their final game of the season. That came on the heels of surprising news, when Lakers president of basketball operations, Magic Johnson, announced he was quitting his position with the front office. Johnson's move was not just a surprise to fans, but to Jeanie Buss, LeBron James, and many Lakers' players. That's because Magic made the decision without telling them. He felt it would result in Buss trying to convince him to stay and it would work. Magic wants to be a part of the Lakers' community still, but just not in that front office role.

Meanwhile, LeBron James sat down with Jim Hill of CBS Sports Los Angeles to speak about many topics. At the forefront were the concepts of missing this year's NBA playoffs and his future goals with the Lakers. James admitted the frustrating part of the season was that the team never got to fully experience cohesiveness as a unit due to injuries, suspensions, and other matters.

Hill brought up that LeBron could be the one to bring the Lakers back to relevancy. LeBron told him, "That's my only goal to get the Lakers back to championship basketball…and playing meaningful games in April, May, and hopefully in June."

Kobe Bryant is a player who helped bring the Los Angeles Lakers five titles. He's also a player that LeBron is being compared to now that he's a Lakers player.

Of those comparisons, LeBron called them "unfair," mentioning that he, Kobe, and Michael Jordan are each different. He added that they each had different paths and challenges to go through. However, LeBron also admitted he believes their common trait is they all love to play the game each and every day.

LeBron not devastated missing playoffs

CBS Sports NBA analyst Reid Forgrave appeared on the radio show "Taz & The Moose" to give a different perspective on LeBron's current mental state. Forgrave commented, "I get the sense that LeBron has other things going right now." He also mentioned that while he believes LeBron would like to win another title with the Lakers, "he believes his legacy is secure."

Forgrave also discussed the concept that LeBron was able to separate himself from the reality of not making the playoffs in his first season with the Lakers.

It's either that or he's matured mentally. James was shut down by the Lakers for the final games of his season and was able to attend Dwyane Wade's final NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets. In addition, there's constant talk of the "Space Jam 2" movie that LeBron will be working on this summer.

So, he may still love basketball. Nobody's questioning that. However, at this point in his career, he may not be quite as focused on basketball or worrying about winning as much. That said, many people are curious to see what version of LeBron emerges for the Lakers' next season.
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