With the New York Knicks facing a financial crunch and the Los Angeles Lakers staring at a potential LeBron James trade demand, it has the makings of a perfect storm that could shock the NBA.
Zach Lowe of The Ringer proposed a blockbuster trade that would help the Knicks clean their books while providing the Lakers with 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.”
Bridges’ extension is coming and they will soon have to pay Brunson his supermax two years from now.
However, such a mega-trade is not feasible right now for the Knicks after they hard-capped themselves at the second apron following the signing of French forward Guerschon Yabusele to their $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception.
The Knicks are not allowed to aggregate salaries in any trade. Unless they can dip below the second apron by first making a salary dump trade, Lowe’s proposal will remain a fantasy.
Klutch Sports Open for Business Again in New York
But if James wants to go to New York, things can get interesting, especially after Rich Paul and Leon Rose had already squashed their old beef.
For the first time since Cam Reddish’s ill-fated stint in New York, a Klutch Sports client — Jordan Clarkson — is joining the Knicks.
According to the New York Post, it was Paul who first reached out to the Knicks. This could pave the way for a potential LeBron final act in his most favorite arena in the world — Madison Square Garden.
James had his past flirtations with the Knicks. Will it finally happen this time?
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 Veiled Threat 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.
Are the Lakers pushing James to the edge?
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