Lakers News: Pundit Proposes Trading LeBron James For All-Star Hawks Guard
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Los Angeles Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron James has recently bemoaned the state of his club's roster depth. He clearly inked his two-year, $97.1 million extension with LA during the 2022 offseason with the expectation that the team's front office would be actively striving to improve the roster.
Thus far, that has not been the case.
David Aldridge of The Athletic proposes that one struggling Eastern Conference club might be interested in LBJ's services when he becomes trade-eligible this summer.
After trading for young two-way All-Star Dejounte Murray over the summer, the Atlanta Hawks expected to return to at least semi-contention in the 2022-23 season, behind a core of Murray, incumbent All-Star point guard Trae Young, well-compensated young power forward John Collins, and veteran rim-rolling center Clint Capella.
Instead, the Hawks have been an absolute mess, amidst chatter that basically the entire team dislikes Trae Young.
Aldridge proposes a LeBron deal centered around Murray and Collins (both of whom have not fit particularly well alongside Young). In this hypothetical, the Lakers would flip James and veteran LA guard Patrick Beverley (who would have to sign a new contract and agree to a trade, as he is an unrestricted free agent) for the contracts of Murray and Collins, reserve guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, reserve guard Justin Holiday in yet another sign-and-trade, and a 2024 first-round pick under Hawks control (Atlanta possesses both its own pick and the Sacramento Kings' first-rounder).
I'm going to counter with a package of Murray, Collins, and at least one first-round pick (but, let's be real, probably two) in exchange for James, who despite his advanced years remains one of the NBA's most lethal scorers. That way you don't need to worry about getting Holiday or Beverley to agree to sign-and-trades. I think Aldridge might also be drastically overestimating the value of Beverley's next contract. Though he's making $13 million this year, I'm dubious he'll net anything more than a veteran's minimum next season, thanks to his uninspiring performance for LA.
