The Lakers knew exactly what they were getting when they signed LeBron James to a four-year deal in the summer: a player who would make an impact on the court and probably in the front office too.

Like it or not, the superstar wields quite a lot of power and gets his way everywhere he goes - bar Miami, Pat Riley's the man over there - and he's already throwing his weight around in Los Angeles.

The team completed a deal for Tyson Chandler last week, with the Phoenix Suns having bought the veteran center out of the final year of his contract after a three-year stint.

RELATED: TYSON CHANDLER OFFICIALLY SIGNS WITH LAKERS AFTER SUNS BUYOUT

via dailynews.com

According to Ken Berger of Bleacher Report, LeBron was the one who made the deal happen. James Jones, who played with the forward both in Miami and Cleveland, is now the vice president of basketball operations at Phoenix and proceeded with the buyout after his former teammate called in a favor.

It is commonplace for teams to buy players out near the trade deadline in February. However, given the Lakers' struggles in the post, LeBron needed it to happen immediately and asked his pal to speed things up.

"[Not buying out Chandler until after the trade deadline] was the plan…until LeBron called in a favor. It’s no coincidence that the facilitator was Suns vice president of basketball operations James Jones, a close friend and longtime teammate of James.

“They could have bought him out at the trade deadline and gotten great leadership and mentoring for two-thirds of the season,” a rival executive told B/R. “But LeBron wanted him now.”

Ken Berger, Bleacher Report

The Lakers are definitely a better team with the 18-year man in their lineup and his influence in the post was clear to see during his debut game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

LeBron, meanwhile, usually gets the teammates he wants, and the Lakers will likely be better off for it as bringing Chandler in has the markings of a very positive move.

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