“The Lakers should call these 3 teams for their trader LeBron”
LeBron James could leave the Lakers in a year, but some observers are already talking about leaving this summer. One of them notably mentioned three franchises which could be contacted by the Pourpres et Ors, in the weeks to come!
With the failure of the Lakers’ 2021-22 campaign (33-49, 11th in the West), the future of LeBron James in the City of Angels has become particularly hazy. The winger has averaged 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists this year, but the collective performance was simply disastrous and the offseason promises to be busy. Rare are those to see the Californians recover from 2022-23, and it will therefore be one less opportunity for the King to go and glean a last ring before retirement.
As a result, rumors about a departure in a year have been circulating for a while, and some even think that he could pack his bags in just a few weeks. Stephen A. Smith does not exclude this hypothesis in any case, as he explained on the set ofESPN. According to him, Los Angeles should take matters into their own hands and contact the competition to negotiate a trade. In particular, he believes that three options would be viable:
The Heat, the Jazz or the Cavs as a base for LeBron?
If I’m the Lakers, I call Cleveland because they have young talent and he’s from Akron. I call Miami because they have some good players – you talk about Bam Adebayo, Tyler Hero, they have some young talent too. And, I also call Utah. Redeem it for Donovan Mitchell. Remember, LeBron no longer has an anti-transfer clause. He may not want to, but it’s no longer up to him.
The first two destinations have already come up several times in the discussion, insofar as the Chosen One would leave the Purples and Golds. These are, after all, the only other franchises he has played for in the past, so the connection is obvious. Not sure, however, that the interest is there for their respective leaders: Cleveland wants to move forward with a young base, while the Floridians have tight finances. Parting with their nuggets is also out of the question.
Finally, the Jazz track is interesting, especially since Dwyane Wade, LBJ’s great friend, is now a member of the Mormons. The franchise is about to explode after another failure in the playoffs, and a departure from Spida cannot be ruled out, just like Rudy Gobert. Will LA be ready to give it a shot? Again, hard to believe, even if the n°6 could no longer challenge any deal negotiated by Rob Pelinka & co. The latter should however rather try to rebuild the workforce around him, this summer.
Stephen A. Smith therefore recommends to the Heat, Utah and Cleveland to remain alert when making contact with the Lakers, but it is doubtful that the journalist will be confirmed in his remarks. A priori, LeBron James will be a Laker in 2022-23.
