Lakers: NBA Insider Explains When and Why LeBron James Should Request a Trade
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Lakers superstar LeBron James has never been afraid to jump another franchise in order to improve his odds of winning a championship. He famously opted to take his talents to South Beach after spending his first seven seasons in Cleveland. After winning two titles in Miami, James then went back to Cleveland, leading the franchise to their first NBA championship, before inking a deal with the Lakers and being the driving force in the team's 2020 title run.
The godfather of the NBA player empowerment era has done it all in his decorated career, except doing what most disgruntled NBA stars do these days - requesting a trade.
The discussion of LeBron's ongoing contract extension talks with the Lakers this summer, in the context of fellow future Hall-of-Famer Kevin Durant's demands for a trade from Brooklyn, kicked off some thought exercises from experts about whether or not James would be willing to go down that path if things go sideways in LA again.
The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor believes that if Rob Pelinka and the Lakers brass don't pull out all the stops (cough, spend the picks to trade Russell Westbrook, cough) to make the team a contender, LeBron, who clearly enjoys the LA lifestyle, should ask for a trade.
"If the Lakers don’t do everything they can to build a title contender around LeBron, or if they try to do so and fail, he should leave for basketball reasons. Family, business, and the joy that comes from living in Los Angeles might outweigh the desire to bolster his legacy in a new city. But there are still chapters to be written that involve him winning on the court."
In a recent meeting with LeBron, Pelinka reportedly stated that he's willing to do everything in his power to ensure that James can continue to compete for championships.
The coming months could be the time for Pelinka to put his money where his mouth is and burn the team's 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to get Westbrook, a running mate that LeBron seemingly isn't fond of anymore, out of town.
The Lakers standing pat with the current roster could lead to the roster's most important player asking out of LA.
