Lakers: NBA Analyst Pushes For A LeBron James Trade This Offseason
We have officially reached that stage of the Lakers season this year. Things have gone so poorly that analysts are already talking about blowing up the team this offseason and what kind of dramatic trades can be made. The two big names to pop up in those dramatic discussions? LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The AD trade actually makes sense, but probably not coming off of this down season. But preparing for life after LeBron in Los Angeles could mean that AD is on the move at some point.
But with everything happening this past week surrounding LeBron, the talk has shifted. NBA analysts are suddenly exploring what it would look like to ship James off to another team. And The Herd's Colin Cowherd actually makes a decent argument for that.
"He's missed a season in the last 4 seasons. And he's getting older. ...I would prefer the Lakers keep LeBron, trade AD and blow it up this offseason. But so what if you had to trade him. LA has a history, we just get the next guy. ...the bottom line, LeBron is someone I would rather keep and LeBron wants to stay here. But there's an argument to be made, LeBron needs LA right now as badly as LA needs LeBron."
To his point, James has missed a lot of games over the last 2 seasons. And even if you're LeBron James, Father Time is undefeated. Of course, he's doing everything he can to put up a fight. James is averaging close to 30 points per game and still dominating at age 37.
But James has been extremely passive-aggressive in how he has approached his displeasure with the team. After the Lakers stood still at the trade deadline, James went out of his way to suggest he could leave.
That included him saying he was open to returning to Cleveland and openly praising the OKC General Manager over the last week. James is under contract for one more season if the Lakers do not extend him by August.
The trade does present a flurry of problems though. Lakers fans would be unhappy, Klutch Sports would be unhappy, and LBJ would probably be unhappy. So while it might seem like a good idea for the long-term, that would be a VERY tough sell for Rob Pelinka.
