LeBron James recently turned 38 years old, but the King hasn’t stopped dropping incredible performances even at this age. If anything, James seems to be getting better with age. Keeping that in mind, it’s incredibly sad to see his final few years getting wasted with the Los Angeles Lakers.
In the Lakers’ most recent performance, it took a 47-point effort from LeBron James to help the team win the game. The win improved the Lakers’ record to 15-21, but it’s still not enough for the team to be in contention to advance to the postseason.
Seeing James essentially being left alone, many believe that he will request a trade from the organization in the next offseason.
NBA Insider Boldly Claims This Is LeBron James’ Last Season With The Lakers
James may have claimed that he feels better than ever at 38, but there is only so much he can do on his own. As a result, many rumors have emerged in the last few weeks about the future of LeBron with the Lakers.
Some have even suggested hypothetical blockbuster trades that could finally free James from the shackles of the Lakers. Building upon that, NBA insider Chris Mannix has now claimed that James will most certainly get traded from the Lakers in the upcoming offseason.
Via Sports Illustrated:
Let’s face it: LeBron James’s decision to extend his contract with the Lakers was a mistake. It was a mistake for James, who doesn’t need the guaranteed cash, pushing his deal through 2023–24 limited his leverage. It was also a mistake for L.A., which didn’t have the pieces to build a title contender around James and (this season, anyway) doesn’t have the flexibility to do anything with him.
In an ideal world, the Lakers use the cap space created by Russell Westbrook’s exit next summer to sign Kyrie Irving or Draymond Green, flip a draft pick or two and vault back into contention next season. But if that doesn’t happen, can the Lakers really go into 2023 with James, Anthony Davis and whatever group of castoffs they can assemble around them? Would James want to? Dealing James would take some chutzpah, but if L.A. whiffs on big-ticket items next offseason, is there really a better choice?
As explained by Mannix, in an ideal world, the Lakers would make an effort to surround LeBron James with help to win another NBA Championship. But seeing how the organization has messed up to do so in the last couple of seasons, not many trust the Purple and Gold to do so.
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