Lakers injury report: LeBron James (old) is out for the remainder of the preseason

In recent years, the Lakers have lacked transparency when it comes to injuries. New head coach JJ Redick could change that.

Before Thursday's preseason game in Phoenix against the Suns, JJ Redick announced that LeBron James would be out. Instead of causing hurt that definitely wasn't real, he just told it like it is.

LeBron is out because he's old.

Honestly, fair. Anyone this far into their career should be able to cite this as a legitimate reason for missing games.

During Tuesday's game broadcast on TNT, Jared Greenberg reported that the Lakers would suspend LeBron for the preseason.

The Lakers' preparation plan hasn't done them any favors. In addition to back-to-back games to close out their exhibition schedule, it was also part of three games in four nights after playing Las Vegas on Tuesday. AND what's more, all games are on the move as Crypto.com Arena undergoes renovations.

It was all but certain that LeBron, among other starters, would not play both games in this final stretch. The only surprise is that the starters probably won't make another run together this preseason unless the starters other than LeBron and Rui Hachimura play back-to-back on both sides, which seems unlikely.

As for Rui, there generally isn't much that can be attributed to pre-season injuries, especially in the circumstances mentioned above. Reaves missed time early in the preseason and came back just fine, so for now you can chalk it up to the Lakers being cautious. Only if it continues into the regular season should there be cause for concern.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.