They open the season Oct. 20 in Portland. But Wednesday, the new teammates got to see what it will be like to play with James as the team held their first scrimmage.
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The first preseason game is Sunday against Denver.
To the players and Coach Luke Walton, that seems like a short timeline.
Back when Phil Jackson was coach - and Walton was a player - the team would go to Santa Barbara or Hawaii for training camp.
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"We had two weeks of training camp back then," Walton said. "Now we got four days. We play Sunday."
Players say they're already learning from James, and in particular his rigorous work ethic.
"You actually get to see what goes into practice before he goes out to the game, how prepared he gets before games," said Brandon Ingram. "In practice he tries to be as vocal as he can be."