Dismissed as “just noise” by a member of the team’s senior management, the situation was serious enough so that James’ agent, Rich Paul, met with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka, sources confirmed to The Times. The meeting, which was first reported by ESPN, was to reiterate James’ commitment to the Lakers, who have him under contract for this season and next, and to clear up any perceived issues between the sides. “I don’t understand how some of my comments over the weekend were taken to a whole different area,” James said, claiming that his words were twisted.