Usually, the mere thought of trading LeBron James borders on blasphemy. For the Lakers especially, LeBron is the reason for their success and the only one keeping them relevant right now.
But after an 0-4 start, the Lakers have reached a new low in terms of team morale, and even some of the fans have shown a desire to wipe the slate clean and start from scratch.
The whole situation has made things very interesting on the trade front, and former NBA coach George Karl took the opportunity to propose a partnership between LeBron and the league’s top center, Nikola Jokic.
The Denver Nuggets should trade for LeBron James today.
— George Karl (@CoachKarl22) October 27, 2022
The Denver Nuggets Have Tried To Recruit LeBron James In The Past
The chances of the Lakers trading James are obviously extremely small, but the Nuggets have tried to sign him before. Back in 2018, they wanted to make a pitch to him before he ultimately reached a deal to join the Lakers.
After four consecutive trips to the Finals with the Cavs, where he won one championship, James took his talents to Southern California, trying to bring the Lakers back to the top. At the time, more teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets had good cases to lure the player away from Cleveland.
However, the Lakers won this battle, acquiring one of the best players in NBA history in the summer of 2018. Yet, these three weren’t the only ones interested in getting Bron. In fact, the Denver Nuggets planned to pursue the then 3x NBA champion and team him up with Nikola Jokic and Will Barton.
“With Jokic and Barton on board, the Denver Nuggets will turn their attention to one more free agent: LeBron James. The Nuggets have been in contact with James’s agent and will aggressively pursue a meeting,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix wrote in 2018.
Together, Jokic and LeBron would be insane. At the center position, Jokic is the best there is, and his versatility as a scorer and playmaker makes him impossible to guard. No doubt, he would benefit from LeBron’s game, which involves a lot of drives to the rim and setting up teammates for open looks.
Unfortunately for Nuggets fans, it will always be a what-if instead of an actual, real-life scenario, but it’s still fun to think about what could have been had James decided to pick a different team back in 2018.
