Lakers Rumors: Writer Thinks LA Could Trade for LeBron James’ Friend to Keep Him From Retiring
When you are as elite and important as LeBron James has been in every team he's suited up for, you are given a certain amount of power within franchises that very few players have. We are hearing it more and more, specifically with stars such as Kevin Durant and James Harden being approached to confirm that they'd be okay with their head coaches being fired.
But when it comes actual roster construction, it's been well-known that LeBron James has played a key role in his own squad's moves for years now. Dating back all the way to his second stint with Cleveland where trades were made at seemingly every deadline to try to revamp his teammates so he could compete against the juggernaut Golden State Warriors.
Even this most recent postseason, we saw one of James' closest friends (Tristan Thompson) sign with the Los Angeles Lakers just before the playoffs kicked off despite not playing in the NBA the whole year. The King definitely sits in on a lot of front office meetings that occur in LA.
And even though James' recent comments that hinted a retirement from him coming potentially this summer have taken over the NBA world, it's probably just a message towards the Lakers to get him a better squad heading into next season.
Yes, he'd probably have a good time seeing Thompson back on a one-year deal but it's going to take more than that to keep him in purple and gold until he's 40. Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey cooked up a number of trades that could make him happy but one sticks out among others and that involves a man many refer to as the 'Point God.'
Chris Paul remains as the lone member of the infamous 'Banana Boat' crew that LeBron has yet to play on a team with. He won two championships with Dwyane Wade in Miami, welcomed Carmelo Anthony to the Lakers in the 2021-2022 season, and now maybe could see Chris Paul this coming year.
"Having to create your own buckets over and over is hard, especially as you approach 40. LeBron and Paul could help each other on that front.And though this tandem wouldn't have a long runway, LeBron's individual timeline isn't sprawling either. Paul makes the team better than Russell does in the short term.For the Suns, Russell is 11 years younger than CP3, friends with Devin Booker and probably a better off-ball operator for a lineup with Booker and Kevin Durant thanks to his three-point shooting."
(Via Bleacher Report)
D'Angelo Russell's future is seriously up in the air after a disappointing playoff outing from him this year and Bailey thinks there could be a better role for him in Phoenix with this move.
CP3 was supposed to be a Laker just over a decade ago... maybe things will come full circle.
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