Getty LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
If the Los Angeles Lakers do decide to part ways with LeBron James this off-season, they will have plenty of suitors.
However, according to Ira Winderman from the Miami Sun-Sentinal, the Miami Heat could have one of the best offers available if they chose to do a swap between LeBron James and Tyler Herro.
Ira Winderman: LeBron not so passive about wanting more, creating heat amid Heat.
“Tyler Herro becomes trade eligible again in July (he’s actually trade eligible at the moment, but there are major salary-cap hurdles in place). And that makes it all the more curious because the two-year, $97 million extension signed by LeBron also does not have him trade eligible until the offseason… Since the end of the Big Three era, has there been a Heat player who speaks more to the L.A. vibe than Tyler Herro? Follow-up: If passive-aggressive LeBron further amplifies Wednesday’s volume amid continues losing, might the Lakers have to consider their next evolution, just as they did in the post-Kobe Bryant era,” Winderman wrote.
Herro, the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, has participated in 29 games for the Heat this season, averaging 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 45.2% from the field and 39% from deep.
Lakers Could Choose To Trade LeBron James
According to a December 30 article from Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers could choose to trade LeBron at the end of the current season – especially if he continues to vent his frustrations at the team’s struggles.
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“They’re not dumping a legend, they’re simply abiding by his request, which changes the scenario completely. Seriously, how much longer can they believe that James is still capable of leading a young core into the playoffs? When are they finally going to admit that James is a wasted talent without contributions from Davis, and when are they going to realize Davis might never be a consistent star again,” Plaschke wrote on December 29.
Currently sitting 13th in the NBA’s Western Conference, the Lakers are dangerously close to missing out on the postseason for the second straight year, which given LeBron’s limited time left in the league, would be disastrous.
LeBron James Could Stay For Family Reasons
On December 30, Marc Stein noted that LeBron could remain with the Lakers beyond this current season due to his family being settled in the area and also due to his close proximity to Hollywood.
On his 38th birthday … column on watching Year 20 LeBron James:
“Family reasons and LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION, as we’ve noted here many times, were the true driving forces that prompted James to leave Cleveland for Hollywood in the summer of 2018. Those are believed to be the same forces that would keep him from urging the Lakers to ship him somewhere that he has an actual chance at ring No. 5. His oldest son Bronny is a high school senior. Another son, Bryce, is a high school sophomore. They’re budding prospects thriving in Southern California. James presumably doesn’t want to uproot them,” Stein wrote.
As such, it will be interesting to see if LeBron does push for a move away from the Lakers this summer or accepts that he will be a passenger in a rebuilding project and will likely never add to the four championships he’s won so far in his career.
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