Whatever LeBron James muttered through his jersey to Lonzo Ball after the Cavaliers beat the Lakers on Thursday, they weren’t letting on to the rest of us. Which, of course, only added to the intrigue.

Following Cleveland’s 121-112 win and the tete-a-tete between James and Ball, the Cavs star was asked what message he was so eager to keep hidden from lip-readers. Not surprisingly, James demurred, telling TNT’s Kristen Ledlow, “I didn’t tell him anything. It’s not for everybody. There’s enough noise out there already with ‘Zo, and it’s not for me to discuss.”

James praised Ball’s “bright future,” noting that he had done the same “the other day.” On Tuesday, James had said of Ball (via ESPN). “I love his humility. He goes out, every time someone asks him a question, he says, ‘This is not about me, man. I just want to win. I don’t care about what I did.’ I seen he had a triple-double one game and they lost. He was like, ‘I don’t care. We lost.’ ”

James, who had his own triple-double Thursday — his fourth of the year, the most by a player in his 15th season or later in NBA history (per ESPN) — continued on Tuesday to discuss how it was possible to draw a “parallel” from his experience in 2003 as a much-hyped and -scrutinized rookie to what Ball is going through. “I guess when you’re drafted to a franchise, they want you to kind of be the savior,” he said. “And it takes a while.

“I mean, listen, man, this guy is 20-something games into his pro career. S— doesn’t happen [that fast]. … Can he play ball? Absolutely. The kid can play ball. Do guys want to play with him? Absolutely, because it’s a guy who is not about him. It’s about the success of the team.”

It’s likely that James was delivering some version of these remarks Thursday to Ball, who posted 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, albeit with a game-high six turnovers. However, that did not stop many online observers from gleefully surmising that James, who can opt out of his contract after this season and has been widely rumored to be interested in joining the Lakers, was actually telling Ball to hang in there until they team up in 2018.

After James had a chance to shower and change out of his uniform, he was asked again about his conversation with Ball. “None of y’all’s business,” he replied.

James was then asked about sending Ball birthday greetings via Twitter in October, which predictably caused many to react with speculation that a move next year to the Lakers really was in the cards. “I don’t do it to get a reaction,” James said Thursday. “I do it because he’s said over and over since he was growing up who he modeled his game after. Who was his favorite player. It was me, and I was humbled by that. So me wishing him happy birthday was kind of the salute back to him.

“I see all the stupid noise that happens,” James continued. “You know, I can’t buy a place in L.A., I can’t live in L.A. It’s funny noise, but I don’t get involved in it. When I post things I don’t look at comments.”

For his part, Ball also declined to specify what James told him. So, just to help fill the information void, here’s another guess: It was about the fact that James didn’t wind up dunking all over the No. 2 pick in the draft.

On Wednesday, James and his teammates had visited the Cleveland Clinic to bring some Christmas cheer to young patients. That was when a boy asked of the 13-time all-star, “Can you dunk on Lonzo for me?”

“I got you. I got you,” James answered with a laugh. “He might not be in my way. Once he sees I’m about to take off, he might move out the way.”

James was partly correct, except in Thursday’s game, it was Lakers center Brook Lopez who made that business decision, stepping aside as James thundered down the lane for a dunk. Ball may actually have displayed some precocious savvy on that play by pretending to be more concerned with closing out on a potential three-point shooter than with moving into James’s path.

While speaking with reporters after the game, James offered some more praise for Ball, saying, “It’s always team, he passes the ball, pushes the ball up the floor, someone that you want to play with. This is a team game, everyone gets so caught up in this individual thing, the team game gets so overlooked. He’s a really good player.”

Wait … did LeBron really say that Lonzo is “someone that you want to play with”? To the rumor mill!

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