Getty LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers
We might have entered a new calendar year, but the Los Angeles Lakers problems remain the same and will do until the front office makes a decision on how they wish to move forward.
Should both Rob Pelinka and LeBron James decide that it’s in their best interests to end LeBron’s time with the Lakers at the end of the season, there will be no end of interested parties. However, according to CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, the New York Knicks would be a likely landing spot for LeBron’s final hurrah and could give the Lakers a legitimate building block for the future in the form of RJ Barrett.
I ranked all 29 other teams as possible LeBron trade destinations earlier today.
If the Lakers are content to let masterpieces like the one LeBron just gave us go to waste, I can think of quite a few teams that are ready to appreciate him.
Trading With The Knicks Would Start a Lakers Rebuild
Assuming the Lakers and Knicks did agree on a trade for LeBron, that would likely be the first in a string of moves that saw Los Angeles embrace a full-scale rebuild. Russell Westbrook’s contract comes off the books at the end of the current season, too, so the only star left on their roster would be Anthony Davis.
Assuming Pelinka wants to wash his hands of the team’s current big three, there would be plenty of teams interested in acquiring Davis, regardless of his recent injury issues. As such, the Lakers should be able to restock their asset cupboard with both draft picks and younger players with a high upside.
RJ Barrett: Clutch Shots / Game Winners
Of course, Barrett would likely be Los Angeles’ primary cornerstone. Right now, in his fourth NBA season, the 22-year-old wing is averaging 19.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game for the Knicks while shooting 47.4% from two-point range and 33.2% from deep, so he’s clearly talented enough to be a focal point of a rebuilding team’s efforts.
LeBron James Could Stay With Lakers For Family Reasons
According to a December 30 report by Marc Stein via his SteinLine newsletter, LeBron may choose to remain in Los Angeles for the rest of his career, as his family is settled in the area and he is within 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.