The handshake that never was: A coach’s quiet summation of two dinners and a few candid moments just takes on frame now as the Lakers’ most sensitive storyline.

JJ Redick dropped the main beat late – and clean. In a recent conversation, Redick said, “ Yeah, I mean, I can handle that. I’ve spoken to LeBron fairly frequently and had two great meetings with him in person. One, he finally made it out to the Hamptons, so he and I had dinner in Sag Harbor right around free agency. And then I could spend some time with him here in L.A. a couple of weeks ago. I came away from that thinking that he’s in a great spot mentally and I know he’s gotta give us his absolute best. So yeah, I mean, he’s a great guy .”

That little passage, that unflinchingly cool and carefully structured passage, sum

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