Rich Paul Quashes LeBron James Trade Rumors
The Los Angeles Lakers are 25–25 and sit as the No. 9 seed less than a week away from the trade deadline. The team’s disappointment this year has caused speculation that LeBron James may want to be traded to a better team for the rest of the season, but those rumors appear to be unfounded.
James’s agent Rich Paul quashed those rumors, telling ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that James prefers to stay with the Lakers.
“LeBron won’t be traded, and we aren’t asking to be,” Paul said on Friday.
Lakers forward LeBron James does not want to be traded, his agent said.
Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today sports
James has a player option worth $51.4 million for next season, so he could become a free agent at the end of the season if he chooses to opt-out. At 39 years old, James doesn’t have much time left in his career to win more championships, so it’s reasonable to think he could be looking to play for teams in better playoff positions entering the second half of the season.
On the season, James has played in 44 games and is averaging 24.9 points per game, 7.7 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. The veteran made another All-Star Game this year, his record-breaking 20th All-Star appearance.
Last year, the Lakers made a run to the Western Conference finals despite the team entering the playoffs as the No. 7 seed with a 43–39 record. Los Angeles is hoping to make a similar run this year with James and Anthony Davis leading the way.
