The Los Angeles Lakers received some good news that should give them confidence to take LeBron James‘ veiled threat with a grain of salt.
ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks surveyed teams around the league and found out that there is no trade market for the soon-to-be 41-year-old Lakers star.
“To be sensitive to LeBron, who is considered one of the greatest of all time, there isn’t [a trade market for him],” Marks said. “He’s making $53 million, he’s in the last year of his contract. He’s 40 years old and I talked to numerous teams yesterday and asked that same question: would you give up basically the farm—basically you would have to give up four or five players to go get LeBron James for one year—and the unanimous answer was no, they wouldn’t.”
James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, put out an ambiguous statement regarding his top client’s future in Los Angeles despite picking up his $52.6 million player option.
“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.”
Lakers Pivoting From LeBron to Luka
After seven years with James as face of the franchise, the Lakers made a seismic organizational pivot last season when they traded for Luka Doncic in exchange for Anthony Davis, James’ closest friend on the team and a fellow Klutch Sports client. Upon his arrival, the Lakers immediately catered to Doncic’s demand as they made the rescinded Mark Williams trade, which hasn’t gone unnoticed to James’ camp, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported in February.
“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 suddenly find themselves in two different timelines with James and Doncic as their stars.
Is LeBron a Buyout Candidate?
While the Lakers still want to compete, they do not have the ammunition to shape the roster into a championship contender. After the Doncic trade, they are left with only one first-round pick (2031 or 2032) and up to four pick swaps as their draft capital, which is not enough to land an All-Star caliber center.
Depending on what they do and Dorian Finney-Smith‘s free agent decision, the Lakers will only have limited spending power in free agency. If Finney-Smith returns, the Lakers will only have the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception. If Finney-Smith signs elsewhere, they will have the $14.1 million full MLE.
But if the Lakers strike out on Finney-Smith and significant free agent centers, James could ask out. But he may find out the harsh reality that at his age and with only a year left on his deal, the rest of the league will not mortgage their future for just a one-year rental.
“The stakes change a lot if LeBron James ever became a free agent and did some type of buyout in Los Angeles,” Marks added. “There, you would have 29 teams lined up for him.”
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