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The honeymoon phase between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers is long in the past. The two sides got off to a rough start during his first year as the team missed the playoffs. Things quickly turned around as the Lakers traded for Anthony Davis and won a championship.
LeBron appeared to be the happiest he had ever been and was poised to finish his career in Los Angeles. With the Lakers being two seasons removed from the championship, things could be starting to sour. LeBron is entering the last year of his current contract and there’s a chance he won’t sign an extension. He’s also recently been talking about how he’d love to play with the Golden State Warriors and Steph Curry.
While LeBron could just be having fun with the comments about playing with the Warriors, there could be more to it. Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd believes that the superstar’s comments aren’t coming out on accident.
“To me, it feels obvious,” Cowherd said on “The Herd.” “He’s not just suddenly interested in Steph. He sees the dysfunction. He sees the roster. He sees the [Russell] Westbrook salary-cap issue. He sees Anthony Davis’ health. He’s gonna throw it out there, again and again and again, how much he’d like to play with Steph and the Warriors.”
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Is LeBron Trying to Get to Golden State?
LeBron already believes he’s the greatest player in NBA history but that’s a subject that is still up for debate. Most people would still pick Michael Jordan over him. A big reason for that is due to the fact that LeBron has four championships while Jordan has six. If he can catch Jordan’s six championships, his case for being the greatest ever becomes much stronger.
At this point, it’s fair to question if he’ll be able to win another title while with this Lakers team. Last year’s trade for Russell Westbrook has limited the team’s flexibility to improve. The Warriors had a couple of down years due to injury but finally got healthy this year and are on the brink of winning another title. It’s hard to imagine LeBron actually wants to play in Golden State but it would certainly provide him a better shot at winning more titles.
Should Lakers Trade LeBron if He Doesn’t Sign Extension?
This offseason, LeBron is eligible to sign a contract extension to stay in Los Angeles. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report recently reported that the feeling around the NBA is that he won’t sign a new contract just yet. If he doesn’t sign an extension, it doesn’t mean he’s done in Los Angeles but it would certainly lead the way for a lot of speculation.
If LeBron doesn’t commit to the Lakers, it’s well within their rights to at least explore their options. They can’t have him leave for nothing, even with him being 37. If he doesn’t commit and the Lakers are bad again next season, they should strongly consider moving him before the trade deadline to salvage some value.
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