Lakers' LeBron James, Anthony Davis Growing 'Concerned' of LA's Trade Efforts Ahead of Deadline

Ricardo Sandoval | Jan 22, 2025

Dec 2, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and forward Anthony Davis (3) on the bench against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Lakers superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are reportedly 'concerned' about the front offices' ability to make significant roster upgrades as the trade deadline approaches. 

ESPN's Shams Charania shared in his latest column on Wednesday.

“But with the Feb. 6 trade deadline a little more than two weeks away, league sources told ESPN that James and Davis are growing concerned about the Lakers' ability to make significant roster upgrades with their two tradeable first-rounders. James, a four-time champion, and Davis, a one-time champ, have expressed that they want the franchise to make moves to contend for a championship, with the co-stars believing the Lakers are potentially a piece or two away, sources said.”

REPORT: LeBron James and Anthony Davis are “growing concerned” about Lakers ability to make significant roster upgrades, per @ShamsCharania

“[LeBron and AD] have expressed that they want the franchise to make moves to contend for a championship, with the co-stars believing the… pic.twitter.com/1VrEtwxyNU

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) January 22, 2025

The Lakers are expected to be one of the most active teams as early February approaches; however, the L.A. front office appears to be taking a different approach. 

On Tuesday, The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported that rival scouts and front-office executives around the league feel the Lakers are more likely to either stand pat or make 'half-measure' trades rather than go 'all-in.' 

There are two sides to the coin in this situation. 

On one side, the Lakers have a very limited championship window, and that's what it is like when you have James and Davis on the team. The Lakers cannot squander the opportunity of having two all-worldly players and not go all-in with them. 

Davis and James have shown that they are still good enough to be a championship-level duo, but without a roster that suits their skill sets around them, it will all be for nothing. 

On the other hand, James is 40 years old. It's not a matter of 'if' but 'when' James will hang up his basketball shoes. 

In the front offices' heads, why go all-in when one of your two stars isn't playing basketball by the time their highly coveted draft picks come? 

The Lakers would have to mortgage their future in order to get win-now pieces, but by the time James leaves, the Lakers may be a bottom-level team. 

The Lakers are stuck in the middle; regardless, they need to make some tough decisions in the coming weeks. It will tell us all we need to know about the direction Rob Pelinlka and Jeanie Buss want to take moving forward. 

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