NBA Trade Deadline: Why Lakers’ LeBron James Should Force Deal to Mavs
After being swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals last season, the Los Angeles Lakers’ regression this season wasn’t hard to foresee.
LeBron James, despite being 39 years old, remains the best player on his team, which is unbelievable and unprecedented, but it hasn’t translated to the Lakers being a title contender. L.A. has a 27-25 record heading into Thursday NBA trade deadline, good for ninth-place in the Western Conference.
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James’ future with the Lakers past this season has been questioned, but given his age, why not rip the bandaid off now and demand a trade before the deadline in order to compete for a championship now instead of wasting a season? And if James does request a trade, why not ask to go to the Dallas Mavericks to join forces with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving? After all, James admires Doncic, Irving and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, and Irving reached out to James last summer in an attempt to recruit James to Dallas.
NBA analysts like The Ringer’s Kevin O’Conner have also considered the idea of the Lakers trading James, although it didn’t involve the Mavs the way we’ve been envisioning.
“If a breakup is inevitable, I can’t help but wonder whether the best time for both LeBron and the Lakers to make a change is now, ahead of the deadline: James could join a contender, and Los Angeles could get something in return. Would the Heat, Knicks, or Sixers make an all-in move? All of them could offer a better chance at the Finals than the Lakers,” O’Conner wrote.
“What if the Warriors offer a bunch of their picks and young guys? LeBron does love Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Or could the Cavs see appeal in another LeBron homecoming? It’d be quite a final chapter to his career. Changing teams would allow LeBron to take advantage of one of his final years and would allow the Lakers to recoup some value and help lay the groundwork to pursue Luka Doncic later this decade.”
If the Lakers are going to lay the groundwork for pursuing Doncic later this decade, then perhaps a show of good faith by letting LeBron finish his illustrious career in Dallas with the 24-year-old phenom would be a good step in the right direction. Then again … if Doncic wins multiple championships as Kidd has predicted he will, maybe the Lakers would be against accelerating that process.
"I've said this before, and I'll say it, you know, for as long as I'm here, is you can't take this young man for granted," Kidd said of Doncic in an interview on 97.1 The Freak recently.
“His ultimate goal is to win a championship, and he will get there, not just win one, but he will win multiple when it's all said and done."
LeBron to Dallas makes a lot of sense, whether it happens in the next seven days before the trade deadline or later in the summer during free agency. And to be clear, it might not happen at all — especially via trade given the lack of assets the Mavs have to offer — but all the signs have been right there in front of us if it does happen.
