It has been a weird season for LeBron James, on one hand, he was one of the best players in the league individually, almost winning the scoring title despite being in his 19th season in the NBA. On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers were dysfunctional all season and missed out on the playoffs after the roster failed to live up to the expectations that were set of them ahead of the season.
The Lakers have a lot of decisions to make in the offseason that will seriously impact their future, and all 3 of their superstars have question marks surrounding them. The fit with Russell Westbrook has not worked out, Anthony Davis continues to struggle to stay healthy and available, and LeBron James, as incredible as he is, will only get older. What’s more, he may walk in a few seasons anyway, when and if his son Bronny makes it to the league.
And while it would be a huge move to make, Stephen A. Smith has suggested that the Lakers trade James away, something that would be a huge call on the franchise’s part.
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“I have an announcement I’d like to make. It is involving LeBron James. I wanna announce to the American public that I think the Los Angeles Lakers should strongly consider trading LeBron James. That is what I believe.
“Now a lot of people are gonna lose their minds because the brother is 37 and in his 19 years and just averaged 30 and all this other stuff and if the team was better, he would have been a league MVP candidate without question. This is not throwing a speck of shame on LeBron James… I’m telling you, this is no shade to him at all.
“The Los Angeles Lakers as presently constructed are going nowhere. Russell Westbrook clearly lost something. Do I think he’ll make amends and come back to some degree next year, probably, but we don’t know. He’s on the last year of his deal, making $47 million. I know for a fact, by numerous executives I’ve spoken to that you can’t get so much value for Anthony Davis. Because he’s perpetually injured and not reliable healthwise… He gets injured all the time.
“Here we go with LeBron James. He’s the only person that has extreme value. That you’ll never get equitable compensation for his greatness. But it’s the only chance you have at being immediately respectable if you’re the Los Angeles Lakers.”
It is very unlikely that James is the piece the Lakers will move, considering that he is still their only reliable superstar and playing at an extremely high level. Trades have been rumored for Russell Westbrook, but it remains to be seen how that will unfold as the offseason goes on. Whatever the case, Lakers fans are probably not going to like this take from Stephen A. too much, and it goes against what is reported to be the Lakers’ ideal summer regardless.
