LeBron James was quiet for most of this offseason while people speculated that he was upset with the direction the Los Angeles Lakers are heading in. His agent, Rich Paul, issued a statement in late June that mentioned the two want to evaluate what’s best for the 40-year-old moving forward, and many interpreted it as a prelude to a trade demand.

But James remains a member of the Lakers, and he seems to be in good spirits about the new season. He even said on media day that they can compete for the NBA championship.

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He also went into further detail about the team’s three big offseason additions: center Deandre Ayton, guard Marcus Smart and forward Jake LaRavia.

Via Lakers Nation:

“Just adding those three guys, competing against those guys for years,” James said. “And obviously we know the matchups that I had with Marcus over the years, especially when we was in the Eastern Conference him in Boston, me in Cleveland and just all those matchups that we had. Happy to have him. I know what he brings to the game. I know that team is first, second, third, fourth, fifth when it comes to Marcus Smart.

“Adding a big guy like DA. His skillset is very high. His athleticism is high, so I think he adds another dynamic to our team along with Jaxson. That’ll be a great one-two punch at our center position. And then adding a wing like Jake. A big wing who can shoot the ball, can handle the ball, but his toughness. Sneaky athletic as well.

“It’s going to be great for our ball club and I’m just happy…looking forward to seeing how it comes together. The best thing about it we have a full year starting up with training camp. I think that’s going to be very good for our ball club going into this year.”

Ayton represents a significant upgrade at the 5 spot. He has career averages of 16.4 points on 59% field-goal shooting and 10.5 rebounds a game, and he has a deep skill set on offense. The question is how dedicated he will be to being a plus defender, especially when it comes to protecting the rim.

Smart has always been committed to the defensive end, and he’s just three calendar years removed from winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. At age 31, he may be a bit diminished compared to the player he was three years ago, but he should still make a tangible impact.

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LaRavia, who is 23 years of age, emerged as a sharpshooter last season by making 42.3% of his 3-point attempts. He can also be a disruptive team defender, and he may still have room for improvement on that end of the floor.

As usual, a good part of the burden of making the Lakers very competitive will fall on James, even though Luka Doncic has supplanted him as the squad’s centerpiece player.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: LeBron James talks about Lakers’ three big additions this summer