Los Angeles Lakers: 3 things the vetoed CP3 trade robbed the NBA of

Banana Boat Crew on the Los Angeles Lakers?

While it would have been next to impossible to land Chris Paul, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony in their prime, there is a reality in which all of these players could have been on the Lakers at the same time.

With Chris Paul already on the roster, the wheels would have been in motion after Kobe Bryant’s retirement to go after LeBron James.

With LeBron James coming off winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, he would have fulfilled his commitment to his hometown team, with LeBron being on one-year deals during his time with Cleveland, he would now be able to finish his career in Los Angeles with his best friends in the NBA while also taking his business ventures to the next level post his playing career.

It would also potentially give him the best chance to catch Michael Jordan’s ring total.

Dwyane Wade would have also been available to sign in 2016, allowing the Lakers to have 3 members of the banana boat crew in LA in the Summer of 2016.

They would have had to wait until the 2018-19 season to land Carmelo Anthony as they wouldn’t have had the necessary cap space to take his contract on.

With each player wealthy beyond measure, it is feasible that they would speak to one another to take pay-cuts to play together.

In this scenario, the Lakers will have to move on from Dwight Howard whether that is via trade or allow him to leave in Free agency.

If LeBron, CP3, and Wade had all agreed to play together in LA, then the Lakers as an organization would have traded Howard for trade or draft assets to not lose him for nothing in 2016.
While most of the Banana Boat crew would have been on the wrong side of their prime, they would have had the potential to give the Golden State Warriors problems.

The level of experience, big shot takers, and team chemistry would be hard to beat.
Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony Vs Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green would have been a hell of a battle.

The Lakers would also be well set for the future post of the Banana boat crew.

Wade could choose to retire around the same time as he did or go back to Miami to finish his career, LeBron James could decide to push on with Melo and CP3 and try and win more titles but he could also finish his career with the team that drafted him. The Lakers could cut ties with Melo if his level of play fell off.

As for Chris Paul, he could remain with the Lakers or decide that he needs a change of scenery. This would allow the Lakers to have serious cap space and make a run at the next generation of superstars going forward.

At the end of the day, the trade never happened.

A franchise in LA landed Chris Paul. It just wasn’t the Los Angeles Lakers. Looking back at the past, the Lakers fans would take the imaginary scenario’s laid out here, but all roads lead back to LeBron James.

With the Lakers in the hunt for a title this season, here is hoping that a title this season can make up for years of heartache and pain for the purple and gold.