Lakers Rumors: No. 6 LeBron James has to wait until next season

Recent Los Angeles Lakers involve the jersey number swap LeBron James was planning with Anthony Davis, as it will be put on hold at least one season.

There have been a lot of Los Angeles Lakers rumors in recent weeks as the team has reshaped their roster. Rob Pelinka and company looked to make big changes and they accomplished that.

The biggest move that the team made was acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. Lakers rumors have persisted for months involving Davis, and they finally came to fruition prior to the 2019 NBA Draft.

To land Davis from New Orleans, the Lakers traded away Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and multiple first-round picks. The most interesting Lakers rumors to come away from the trade is what was expected to happen following the deal.

When the deal was announced, it was followed by the announcement that a jersey change would be occurring. LeBron James was going to gift the No. 23 to Davis, the jersey number he has worn all seven years with the Pelicans and in his one season with the Kentucky Wildcats.

James let the move be known in his Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/1144426801667571712

Kyle Kuzma, the only member of the Lakers’ young core that was not traded away, responded on Twitter as well, hoping James completed the throwback with his patented headband as well from his Miami Heat days.

The headband could come back, but the No. 6 won’t be, at least for this season. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the proposed number swap will have to wait until at least the 2020-21 season to happen.

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In addition to his time with the Heat, who have the No. 23 retired because of Michael Jordan, James wore the No. 6 during his time playing on Team USA in the Olympics. It was a nice gesture on James’ part, but it was one that hit a snag in recent weeks after the decision was announced.

For starters, the deadline for jersey number changes is on March 15th. The Lakers were notified of that, and the change could have happened if Nike approved it, but they did not.

According to a source that spoke to ESPN, the reasoning behind not allowing the change was monetary. Inventory of the unsued No. 23 James jerseys would have cost Nike ‘ well into the tens of millions of dollars’.

Not looking to be a distraction, and to keep his fans who have already purchased his jersey happy, James decided not to pursue the change any longer this season.

James will have until March 15th, 2020 to formally request a number change for the following season if he so chooses. According to McMenamin, James has yet to file for that request.