When the Los Angeles Lakers got LeBron James, they were expected to become a proper threat in the Western Conference and perennial contenders for the NBA title. This didn’t quite materialize in his first season with the team but a push to bring Anthony Davis in to be his partner changed everything and the duo won the championship in their first season playing with one another.
The glories of 2020 seem far in the past though, Davis’ injury issues and poor decisions with the roster have seen the Lakers have a horrible regular season so far. AD is out again and there have been reports of tension within the franchise over LeBron James’ supposed unhappiness with the front office and the results.
Brian Windhorst, speaking on his ‘The Hoop Collective’ podcast, has now suggested that experienced people around the league believe it could be time for the Lakers to blow up this era and trade both superstars away.
“People in the league who have a lot of experience say they should trade ’em,” Windhorst said of James and Davis. “Trade ’em both.”
Davis played less than 40 games for the Lakers in the 2020-21 season and is unlikely to play many more during this campaign either. His injury troubles have meant that the burden to lead the offense has fallen on LeBron James and Russell Westbrook, with the latter suffering from a sharp decline this season that has seen him get roasted by fans and media members alike.
There’s no way to know if the Lakers are considering such a drastic step until the end of this season, but not even making the play-in would certainly call for some big moves from the team. They traded away almost their entire young core to land Davis and any commitment to move on from their current superstars would likely mean another massive rebuild for one of the NBA’s most storied franchises.
