The Los Angeles Lakers are fully committed to LeBron James and honoring his wishes, even if his wish is to leave the franchise for good. Unlike last season, when the Lakers shut down any attempts to trade the King, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins says that a word from LeBron James will have the Lakers (and Rich Paul) in full pursuit of a deal.
“My sources tell me that if LeBron James at any point comes out and says that he wants to be traded or he wants to entertain it, they’re going to entertain it,” said ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins on NBA Today. “It ain’t no holding him back. Last year, Rich Paul stopped it.”
As the Lakers struggle to gain separation in the West, rumors have begun to surface about a potential LeBron James trade. Specifically, James has been connected to the Golden State Warriors, who previously tried to trade for James last season.
At some point before the deadline, with both teams having a difficult season, the Warriors approached the Lakers on a potential trade to pair LeBron James with Stephen Curry in Golden State. The deal would have effectively started a rebuild for the Lakers while giving the Warriors a chance to make one last title push.
But before trade negotiations ever really got off the ground, Rich Paul shut down all trade talks and insisted that LeBron would not leave L.A. The deal was dead at that point but Curry and LeBron were still able to get some playtime together in the Paris Olympic Games, where they led Team USA to the gold medal over France.
The two superstars strengthened their bonds this summer and had the fans in awe over their natural chemistry both on and off the court. Now that the new season is underway, the two players are back to being enemies but it may not stay that way for long.
At 39 years old, LeBron James doesn’t have much time left in his NBA career and wants to spend his final seasons competing for a title over playing meaningless games.
At 13-11 this season, the Lakers are not on a great trajectory and after their most recent loss, rumblings are starting to re-surface about another LeBron trade. With the Warriors still a realistic destination team, some experts believe that LeBron will eventually make his way there to close out his career and Kendrick Perkins says that Rich Paul will not stop it like he did last time. So if LeBron does decide to call it quits on the Lakers, we already know that Golden State will be the first to come knocking.
Of course, other teams will be quick to join the LeBron James sweepstakes as well. Whether it’s the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, or some other unknown team, the King will surely be a hot target if he’s ever available for a trade and he will likely have the final say in where he ends up.
For now, all LeBron is worried about is the next game. For the Lakers, it’s on December 13th against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 8:00 PM EST at Target Center. They play the Timberwolves again two nights later before a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, December 15th, at 9:30 PM EST.
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