This offseason hasn’t exactly been a shot of confidence that LeBron James will be back in a Los Angeles Lakers jersey next season. First, he drops veiled references to retirement at his final postgame press conference. Now, it’s reported that Kyrie Irving is recruiting him to join the Dallas Mavericks.
For LeBron and Kyrie to join forces in Los Angeles, it would require stripping away all of the depth around LeBron and Anthony Davis. For them to pair up in Dallas, the Mavericks would likely need to do the same. In the second scenario, however, the Lakers would likely demand every pick and young player they can get from the Mavs.
If the Lakers trade LeBron, what happens to Anthony Davis?
In that scenario, the Lakers would have Davis, Austin Reaves, and a bunch of young projects and veteran role players. That’s not going to be a team that can compete for a title. Do the Lakers try to flip those assets for more talent around Davis? That path is possible, especially for a single season as they try to see what they have.
The more likely path, however, is that the Lakers decide it’s time for a roster reset. They can trade Davis to another team and get back a younger star, then develop a new young core centered on Reaves, players like Jaden Hardy and Josh Green from Dallas, and whoever they take with the No. 10 pick.
What players could the Lakers target in potential Davis trade? Here are three options to build around a new pillar in Los Angeles.