The Los Angeles Lakers are the center of attention right now, as the team reshapes itself for the upcoming season following what was a fairly disappointing 2024-25 run. The Lakers are heading into year two with head coach JJ Redick and busy making deals during the offseason to try to fill some holes in the lineup.
There’s no question that the Lakers’ most high-profile player is superstar LeBron James. They also have star NBA player Luka Doncic in the fold, following a blockbuster trade that took place during the last season. But, having James and Doncic wasn’t enough to get the Lakers to the championship last season, and things have to change.
With that in mind, there’s lots of talk in the NBA right now regarding James and a possible trade. On Sunday, June 28, James decided to take the final year of his contract with the Lakers. However, he doesn’t necessarily sound like a man who is 100% for sure going to stay with his current team. In a statement he released through his agent, Rich Paul, he makes a comment that he wants to get to the final run again, and that’s what matters to him. “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.”
LeBron James and Lakers Trade Talks
So, James wants to win another championship before he retires, and the Lakers may not be the best team to do it. They don’t seem ready to go that far yet, and time is not on James’ side.
In a piece published on Friday, July 4, in CBS Sports, Sam Quinn drops the bombshell that even though it “makes sense for the Lakers to trade” James, talks are “dying on the vine.”
He notes that the CBA is getting in the way of a potential LeBron trade, noting that a large amount of trades of the past would never happen today due to the CBA.
“Trades that would have been legal and made basketball sense three years ago suddenly aren’t legal,” he flatly notes. “The salary demands imposed on the Cavaliers, Knicks and Mavericks make a trade so prohibitively expensive in terms of value that getting James, no matter how good he is, would probably just be impractical.”
The One Thing Getting in the Way of a LeBron James Trade
He adds that because of the CBA, “most of the sort of teams James would probably like to play for might just be off of the board, and without those teams eagerly vying for his services, there just doesn’t seem to be much urgency for James to make things uncomfortable enough for the Lakers to really kickstart trade talks.”
So, would a trade for James still be possible? “Maybe. Maybe not,” Quinn states. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, at least four teams have contacted Paul about a trade. “We don’t know who those teams are or if James would be interested, but if you just go down the list of sensible possible trade partners, many come with some sort of salary-related hurdle that would be difficult to clear,” Quinn notes.
So, time will tell if a major James trade comes to fruition. But, the reasons why it may not are mounting.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Lakers LeBron James Trade Talks Get Shocking Update From NBA Insider appeared first on Heavy Sports.