Getty Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers looked like title contenders after winning the NBA’s In-Season Tournament but the team has gone 3-9 since and has fallen to the 10th seed in the Western Conference.
LeBron James just turned 39 and his championship window is getting smaller and smaller. If the Lakers can’t turn things around before the February 8 trade deadline, it could be time to consider all options. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons floated a trade idea that would send James to the Miami Heat.
“I had LeBron and Gabe Vincent going back to Miami for Lowry and Robinson, maybe throw in [Nikola] Jović, and a future first. … Kinda do right by LeBron. There’s the symmetry of LeBron going back to Miami 10 years later,” Simmons said on the January 4 episode of ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast.’ “If they could keep [Jaime] Jaquez, Caleb Martin, Butler, Bam, Tyler Herro and add LeBron to all of that. That becomes a possible favorite in the East.”
James played in Miami for four seasons where he won two championships. He’s spoken fondly of the Heat since leaving. Miami went hard after Damian Lillard in the offseason but wasn’t able to make a deal happen. Despite a limited roster, the Heat are 20-14 and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Adding James to their roster would make them one of the top title contenders.
Raised the following hypothetical to @HowardBeck on last night’s pod – if the Lakers season goes south and LeBron on an expiring wanted to chase a title, what would a Miami deal look like?
Fair Trade for Los Angeles Lakers?
For the Heat, this would likely be a trade they’d do in a heartbeat. LeBron James is still good enough to be the best player on a championship team. Pairing him with Jimmy Butler would likely be very successful.
However, it’s hard to see the upside for the Lakers. Adding Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson and Nikola Jovic while giving LeBron basically kills any hopes they have of winning a championship this season. Also, it’s not like any of those players have long-term upside.
One first-round pick that likely won’t be a lottery pick isn’t exactly the most valuable asset. If the Lakers are going to trade James, they’ll likely be looking for a bonafide star in return or a bunch of young assets. Swapping Tyler Herro for Lowry and adding another first-round pick for the deal could be fair but the Heat might not be keen on that.
How Can Los Angeles Lakers Turn Things Around?
The Lakers still have a very talented team. The fact that they’ve dealt with injuries to key role players hasn’t helped things. That said, this is essentially the same roster that made it to the Western Conference Finals last year. There’s still depth and talent on the team.
The biggest reason for optimism has been the play of Anthony Davis. He’s averaging 25.2 points a game to go with 12.5 rebounds while also staying healthy. LeBron James is also playing well. The Lakers just need their role players to get healthy and improve. It’s possible that the team could make some trades before the deadline.
Trading James is effectively giving up on the season but the Lakers aren’t bad enough to consider that quite yet. The only way James is likely to get traded is if he either directly requests one or he strongly hints that he’d like one. That’s unlikely considering his family has roots in Los Angeles right now and his son Bronny James is playing at USC.