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The Lakers have no intention to trade LeBron James or Anthony Davis, their two All-Stars, ahead of the February 6 deadline, reports The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.
Through his “Lakers trade season primer” article published on December 17, Buha threw cold water on the rumors of the Lakers potentially parting with James or Davis in light of their 14-12 start to the 2024-25 season.
“Two players who almost certainly won’t be traded, barring them asking out of Los Angeles, are Davis ($43.2 million) and James ($48.7 million),” Buha wrote. “Despite the recent groundswell from certain media and fans to blow up the roster, the Lakers are not currently considering trading either superstar, according to team and league sources. They want to bolster their supporting cast and continue building around Davis and James.”
The report added that Bronny James “would not be included” in a trade that doesn’t include his father, LeBron, per team and league sources.
Who Could Lakers Realistically Trade?
The Lakers could potentially string together the salaries of D’Angelo Russell ($18.7 million), Rui Hachimura ($17.0 million), Gabe Vincent ($11 million) and Jarred Vanderbilt ($10.7 million) to acquire a player such as Jimmy Butler. The chances of that happening are slim unless Los Angeles includes at least two of its three tradeable first-round picks. Furthermore, there is little to no trade interest in Russell or Vincent around the league, per several insiders.
“The Lakers tried to trade Russell ahead of the 2024 trade deadline and this past offseason after he opted into his player option but couldn’t find any suitors,” Buha reported. “Vincent has been playing better lately but has underwhelmed offensively as the Lakers’ Schröder replacement. Vanderbilt is currently out with left knee effusion after missing the start of the season because of offseason surgeries on both feet.”
Buha added that the Lakers view Austin Reaves ($13 million), rookie Dalton Knecht ($3.8 million) and Max Christie ($7.1 million) as “long-term core pieces” especially due to their team-friendly contracts. As such, it’s unlikely that either of the three gets included in a Lakers trade, unless it’s for a high-level superstar talent.
James Unlikely to Seek Trade From Los Angeles
While the Lakers are unlikely to make Davis or James available, there’s been a lot of buzz about the latter potentially linking up with Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr in Golden State, especially after playing with them at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
On the December 11 episode of “Get Up” on ESPN, Brian Windhorst revealed the Warriors “will definitely” monitor a potential trade for James. However, he noted that the Lakers star had no intention to pursue such a move.
“It’s up to him. He has a no-trade clause, and he has given no indication to the Lakers other than to upgrade the roster they’ve got, not that he wants to go anywhere,” Windhorst said of James. “LeBron’s actions — at least year’s trade deadline, he rejected a move to the Warriors. Last summer, he sat there and offered to take less money from the Lakers if they could find someone in free agency. They didn’t. But he still signed a new contract with a no-trade clause anyway.”
“All those actions make it very clear he wants to be a Lakers,” Windhorst continued. “That said, we have two months until the trade deadline [February 6, 2025]. If he changes his mind, I promise you it’ll be made public and we’ll all know.”
Elsewhere, Kendrick Perkins, a former teammate of James, reported that the Lakers “will entertain” the idea of trading James if he were to ask out.
“My sources tell me that if LeBron James at any point comes out and says that he wants to be traded or he wants to entertain it, they’re going to entertain it. It ain’t no holding him back,” Perkins said.
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