While he may no longer be the best player on the planet, LeBron James is still the face of the league and is the most polarizing player in the league. That is what made the Los Angeles Lakers‘ disappointing season an even bigger deal as it was the worst team of LeBron’s career.
Now the Lakers enter an offseason that presents a crossroads with some moves to make. The biggest goal for the Lakers is to get Russell Westbrook off the team. However, it might be best if the Lakers make the most shocking move possible.
Westbrook should absolutely still be traded but perhaps LeBron should be as well. Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss probably don’t have the gusto to pull the trigger on this kind of trade, but when you really think about it, it might be the best decision the team could make.
3 reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers should trade LeBron James this summer:
1. So LeBron James doesn’t leverage a failed extension over the Lakers
LeBron James is entering the last year of his contract next season and the Lakers are likely going to try and work out an extension with him this summer. For LeBron, it might make more sense for him to not sign an extension.
This will give LeBron the ultimate leverage that he wants, which he also utilized in his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He will be on an expiring deal, essentially threatening the team that he will leave after the season if they do not make the moves he wants them to make. If LeBron was on an expiring contract this season then the Lakers would have traded Russell Westbrook for John Wall. That is a fact.
While trading LeBron would make the Lakers worse next season, this is not a position the team wants to be in. We have seen how barren LeBron has left teams in the past. If you think the Lakers’ roster is barren now just wait to see what it would look like after another season of this.
LeBron has had the leverage over teams his entire career. Without a no-trade clause, LeBron, for the first time in his career, sacrifices some of his leverage. Why would the Lakers want to give that up?
2. Signing an extension might not even be smart for the Lakers
Let’s say LeBron James does not want to play the leverage game and is willing to sign a two-year extension with the Lakers (with the last year likely being a player option so he can potentially opt out to play with Bronny James). This would not be totally shocking as James seems to love the Hollywood lifestyle in LA and that might be more important to him.
However, his comments during the NBA All-Star Break don’t indicate that LeBron is going to not want leverage over the Lakers. Heck, he is already saying how much he would love to play Stephen Curry. Klutch Sports will pass it off as a meaningless comment but LeBron is calculated. He knows what he wants to say and when to say it.
Anyways, back to the extension. It may seem like a perfect world to simply extend LeBron, extend the title window and then pursue another big name once Westbrook’s contract (or whoever they have to trade for) is off the books. While he is the face of the league, we absolutely are justified in asking if it is worth it.
LeBron fans will point to him potentially winning the scoring title at 37 years old as proof that it is worth it. Yes, he could win the scoring title, but he has also missed more games in the last four seasons than in his entire career before. He played two-thirds of the season and put up great individual numbers. Great. Is that worth $40+ million in two years when he is 39 and is even slower and more injury-prone?
We see NBA teams do this time and time again. They pay for past production and it is really hard to look in the mirror and not give LeBron James more years after the numbers that he put up this season.
But that is exactly what he wants. It is a really hard thing to do, but projecting two years into the future is something that the Lakers absolutely should be doing. Especially considering…
3. LeBron James’ trade value will never be higher
This is probably the lowest LeBron James’ trade value has ever been because of his age and his contract. That does not mean that he doesn’t have trade value but it is indicative of him regressing value as an asset as he gets older.
While he is getting up there in age and is coming off of an extremely disappointing season in LA, he is also coming off being one of the leading scorers in the league. There absolutely will be teams that look at that and salivate at the idea of trading for LeBron (and the market value that he brings as well).
The Lakers are not going to get another top player in the league but they could probably flip LeBron for another all-star with a slew of assets attached. If the Lakers called a team like the Wizards and offered LeBron for Bradley Beal and three future first-round picks then they probably would say yes. Any of these middling teams with stars that have not won anything would mortgage the future for the idea of a LeBron James title window, even if that idea is not totally based in reality.
You have to strike while the iron is hot and with no upcoming assets because of the Anthony Davis trade, the Lakers could really benefit from adding assets and adding another star to put next to Anthony Davis for the next era of this basketball team.
Of course, AD is a Klutch Sports client as well, so the Lakers would have to hope that he doesn’t do LeBron’s dirty work and demands out. If he does then maybe a full re-boot is needed. It would be better to do that and get assets rather than have more seasons like the 2021-22 season with no future assets.