With the Los Angeles Lakers still without a center and LeBron James issuing a veiled threat to seek a trade if they are not a championship contender, what if the soon-to-be 41-year-old star is their pathway to achieving both?
Zach Lowe of The Ringer proposed a trade that will furnish the Lakers a starting center and a much younger, elite defensive wing than James.
“To me, the Knicks are the most interesting one because they could sell it as like if it’s [OG] Anunoby] and [Mitchell] Robinson or some combination of Anunoby, [Mikal] Bridges and Robinson,” ” Lowe said on his podcast “The Zach Lowe Show” on Tuesday, July 1. “They could sell it as like, well, we get LeBron James and we’re kind of actually sneakily cleaning up our books for like two or three years down the line, assuming it’s a short-term LeBron deal.”
If the Lakers can flip James, who is an expiring salary into Anunoby or Bridges and Robinson, that will be considered a big win for Rob Pelinka.
Anunoby, Bridges and Robinson are all elite defenders who can cover up for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves‘ defensive limitations.
There’s More Than Meets the Eye
Initially, Lowe thought he’d seen this movie before — James leveraging his impending free agency to pressure his team to make win-now moves as he did in Cleveland and during his earlier years with the Lakers.
But as he thought it over and over again, Lowe believes there’s more than meets the eye.
“I think this is more than that because there’s no player option on the other end of this,” Lowe said. “This is it. This is the end of the contract and I don’t know if it’s because there was a disagreement over the a potential longer term contract. It obviously has not been signed by LeBron James if it’s been offered by the Lakers.
“If it’s a broader philosophical like, well, ‘This is not my team anymore and I don’t like how that feels.’ But this began to feel to me and to people around the league less like the classic LeBron leverage play, longer view window like, ‘We’ll, I’ll decide in the summer’ and veering into like does he want to be on a different team like now?”
LeBron’s Ultimatum to Lakers
James put more pressure on the Lakers’ front office following Rich Paul’s comments explaining his top client’s decision to opt in instead of his customary opt-out and sign a new one-plus-one deal.
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
The Lakers made a seismic organizational pivot from James when they traded for Doncic, swapping Anthony Davis, James’ closest friend on the team and a fellow Klutch Sports client. Upon Doncic’s arrival, the Lakers quickly catered to his demands leading to the rescinded Mark Williams trade, which James’ camp took notice.
“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future,” Paul continued. “We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
The Lakers’ first move in free agency is to sign an unproven 23-year-old wing Jake LaRavia after botching the Dorian Finney-Smith return talks.
Perhaps the writing is on the wall.
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