Getty LeBron James faces an uncertain future with the LA Lakers.
As the Los Angeles Lakers await LeBron James’ decision on a contract extension, much has been made about whether the franchise could consider trading the superstar to avoid the risk of losing King James for nothing in 2023. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons has James ranked surprisingly low at No. 35 in his recently released trade value chart, but it is hard to argue with some of the limitations for a potential blockbuster deal.
James’ possible free agent status in 2023 contributed to Simmons having the Lakers star low in his rankings. Some of the players ranked just above James include Donovan Mitchell, LaMelo Ball, Darius Garland, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero and Zach LaVine. The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo admitted there is a bit of sticker shock that happens when you see James at No. 35, but there are obvious challenges to having him ranked higher.
“When I first looked I was like, wait what LeBron’s 35th?” Russillo noted during the July 11, 2022 edition of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “But like, when you start running through the names ahead of it, it’s an almost impossible conversation. Like, what is he worth on the trade market? He’s going to age at some point, here pretty quickly, right?”
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NBA Exec: ‘LeBron’s Not Getting Traded’
The Lakers may be forced to take the risk of James playing out the final year of his contract. During a conversation with Heavy’s NBA insider Sean Deveney, one Western Conference executive put to rest the idea that the Lakers will trade James if he does not sign a contract extension. The NBA exec added that the Clippers, Suns and Knicks would be teams potentially interested in James if the Lakers had a change of heart.
“LeBron’s not getting traded,” the executive detailed. “He would be tricky though, if they decided to, like what you’re seeing with Kevin Durant. No one’s going to want to overpay for someone that age but the value he brings to your franchise is just beyond what he does on the floor. There are franchises where he would change everything.
“The Clippers. The Suns. The Knicks. You give them LeBron, in Madison Square Garden or with Chris Paul, those are situations where you can’t measure his value. If you have the right team on the line, you can get the best package in the league for LeBron, even at his age.”
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Instead, the Lakers will look to build around James and Anthony Davis but have yet to make a major move this offseason. Los Angeles has added a few rotational players including Lonnie Walker, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones. The Lakers have been unable to move Russell Westbrook and so far have struck out on acquiring Kyrie Irving, Buddy Hield or Myles Turner.
Simmons has Davis much higher in his trade value rankings at No. 12 believing that the big man could fetch the Lakers much more than James in a potential deal. Despite Davis’ recent injury history, the same NBA exec explained that the Lakers could net as many as five future first-round picks in a blockbuster deal for the big man.
“If they put Anthony Davis on the market now, at age 29, they’d be looking at something around what the Jazz got (for Rudy Gobert), probably a better up-front player if that is what they want,” the Western Conference executive stated. “If they want the four or five first-rounders, they’d get that. Now, it is not going to be what they gave up for him, all the picks and Brandon Ingram and Lonzo (Ball), Josh Hart, all of that. But it would be one of the 10 biggest packages you get.
“I know Davis has been hurt and that is going to turn down his value but everyone is going to look at him and think, ‘Okay, we can keep him healthy, he’ll play for us.’ That’s what is going to matter.”