Lakers Should Consider Trading LeBron James

Trading the NBA’s biggest star of the 21st century seems unthinkable. But Los Angeles is stuck in ninth place in the Western Conference and must think about the future.

Rich Paul, the agent for LeBron James, told ESPN last week that James won’t be traded before Thursday’s deadline, and if you know anything about the way the Lakers operate, that probably settles that. Paul, who also represents Anthony Davis, wields significant influence in the organization. If James, the face of the franchise since signing with L.A. in 2018, doesn’t want to be traded, chances are he won’t be.

There’s a reality, though, that Jeanie Buss, Rob Pelinka and the rest of the power brokers inside the Lakers organization need to be facing: The end of the LeBron Era is coming, perhaps sooner than they think.

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This isn’t an effort to be hot-takey or ignore Los Angeles’s recent success. Because these are rare good days in Lakerland. L.A. stormed into New York on Saturday and picked up an improbable win over the Knicks, which came just days after a more improbable win in Boston. Austin Reaves was brilliant for a second straight game, Davis was a defensive menace in his return from injury, and James made plays on both ends down the stretch.

“We’re trying to get to a place where we’re playing the type of basketball we envision,” said Lakers coach Darvin Ham. “The type of basketball we know we’re capable of.”

Still, the wins came with the news that Jarred Vanderbilt could be lost for the season with a foot injury, which means the Lakers, still stuck in ninth place in an ultra-competitive Western Conference, will play out the stretch without one of its best defenders.

So … is it time for the Lakers brain trust to be thinking about a post-LeBron future?

Is it time to stop kicking around trades that nibble on the fringes, pie-in-the-sky deals that won’t happen and upgrades that are unlikely to make a meaningful difference?

Is it time to think about closing this chapter in the Lakers’ storied history and begin a new one?

James is averaging 24.9 points per game, the lowest output since his rookie season, during a campaign where scoring is up across the league :: Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

The decisions Pelinka made last summer were the right ones. Bring back Rui Hachimura. Bring back Reaves. Give D’Angelo Russell a new contract. But it hasn’t worked. The magic the Lakers discovered in the second half of last season, when they surged to a 16–7 record post-All-Star break and used a top-five defense to get to the Western Conference finals, is gone. In its place is a mediocre shooting (15th in three-point percentage), poor scoring (21st), middle-of-the road defensive team that will likely have to fight through a play-in tournament.

The solution isn’t firing Ham, as the social media mob have suggested, because really—who replaces him? Even if you choose to pin the Lakers problems on Ham, whose rotations have been shaky and who in recent weeks internet sleuths freeze framing zoomed-in videos are convinced the Lakers have tuned him out, the bench isn’t steeped with head coaching experience. Phil Handy has been around for a while. Chris Jent was a G-League head coach. Pelinka could look outside the organization but the calendar makes that option risky, to say the least.

The solution isn’t a trade, because frankly, there may not be one. On ESPN, Adrian Wojnarowski, the insider’s insider, urged Lakers fans to dial down expectations before this week's trade deadline, and he’s right. Dejounte Murray is available but Murray could cost L.A. Reaves and the one future first round pick (in 2029) that the Lakers can deal. Bruce Brown is out there but anyone that has dealt with the Raptors know the asking price will be steep.

Malcolm Brogdon? Kelly Olynyk? Royce O’Neale?

Good players. But with what the Lakers will have to send out—most likely Russell, who has been outstanding since Christmas—may not make a meaningful difference.

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The solution isn’t doing nothing because, well, look where we are. “On any given night we can beat any team in the NBA,” James said after a recent loss to Atlanta. “On any given night we can get our ass kicked by any team in the NBA.” 

Los Angeles has had its share of injuries, with Vanderbilt the most recent, but Thursday’s shocking win in Boston was the first time both James and Davis were out of the lineup. Gabe Vincent is good but who knows what Vincent, who has missed all but five games this season with a knee injury, will be able to contribute when he comes back.

The pro-Lakers take is with James, Davis, a sturdy defense and a little bit of help, this team can still win. Witness Davis collecting 18 rebounds against the Knicks and swatting not one but two transition layup attempts on the same possession down the stretch. Witness Reaves scoring 32 points against Boston and 14 in the fourth quarter against New York. Witness James, making plays on both ends.

The core of last season’s conference finalists is there. “Defend at a high, high level,” said Ham. “That’s going to give you a chance every night.” A swing through the Northeast proved that.

Make the playoffs, regardless of seeding, and anything can happen.

Davis, left, and James have functioned as the Lakers’ core since 2019. Could that come to an end by Thursday’s trade deadline? :: Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports

“We took a big hit with [Vanderbilt],” James said. “Our team has always been constructed around how healthy we can be and how much chemistry we can [have] on the floor. Obviously that’s a big-time blow for us. But guys have to pick it up in his absence. If we can play some good basketball, string a couple of wins together, not be so Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, we’ll be O.K.”

The backdrop to all this is James’s contractual status. James has a $51.4 million option for next season and that, along with his affection for the Southern California lifestyle, are reasons to believe he will stay. But he also wants to win. James, who will be 40 in December, may have decided that L.A. isn’t where he can do it. The possibility of his eldest son, Bronny, exiting USC after one season has to be factored in, too.

When James was asked on Saturday if he knew what he was going to do with his option this summer, he said, “No.”

A James trade, while seismic, isn’t that complicated. Golden State, with Klay Thompson’s expiring contract, Jonathan Kuminga’s promising potential and some draft capital could make it work. The Knicks, with Julius Randle, Evan Fournier and a handful of the picks they have been hoarding, could, too. Philadelphia is in limbo with the Joel Embiid injury but Daryl Morey, with Tobias Harris’s expiring deal and some first-rounders to play with, could get in the mix.

Again, James is almost certain to be in a Lakers uniform oThursday, when the Nuggets are in town for a nationally televised date. Even if this season goes south, the Lakers can spin a scenario where they push their chips in next summer, when they will have as many as three first round picks to deal. Even at James’s advanced age, this season isn’t championship or bust.

But the end of the LeBron Era is coming.

The Lakers need to be ready for it.