The Los Angeles Lakers are getting things back on track with their recent moves. The Purple and Gold have selected Darvin Ham as their new head coach, finishing the search that reportedly got tense between the front office and the team’s superstar, LeBron James.
This is a problem the Lakers no longer need to fix, as Ham appears to be everything they wanted in their new helmsman. However, things haven’t ended for the Lakers, as they now are focused on their roster and what they can do to assemble a competitive squad for the 2022/23 season.
In recent weeks, many rumors regarding their Big 3 have surfaced, with some saying Russell Westbrook is on his way out, others point at Anthony Davis and the most daring say that LeBron James should be the one leaving the Lakers.
Well, this hasn’t stopped and recently, Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report predicted that LeBron will request a trade this summer given the Lakers’ inability to compete. They are in a very complex position that makes it hard to complete big trades, land good prospects or hope that their veterans step up and play like superstars again:
Let’s say you’re LeBron James, which means you’re 37 years old, possibly the NBA’s GOAT and possess more experience playing high-level basketball with high-level teammates than anyone else currently active in the NBA. In this hypothetical, you know what a championship roster looks like.
You also know you’re nearing the end of your days as one of the best players in the league. Your time to get one last ring is running short. You cannot under any circumstances waste another year on a team that seems more likely to make the lottery than the Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers have no promising young players likely to ascend, no depth, virtually no first-round picks to trade, no reason to believe Russell Westbrook will be better in his 15th season than he was in his 14th and no legitimate chance to contend—now or in the near future.
Don’t you, LeBron James, think long and hard about engineering an exit?
Seeing how interesting things could get in the NBA this offseason, it wouldn’t be crazy to think that LeBron could entertain this idea. However, he has repeatedly stated he feels comfortable in L.A., just like his family, so there’s nothing that actually makes us think he could leave the Lakers this summer.
Then again, we are about to see a crazy offseason and even though there aren’t many big names in free agency, the trade block could see some superstars changing teams after not-so-easy seasons.
