There is plenty of chatter about LeBron James’ future in Los Angeles, but based on recent reports, getting traded isn’t one of them.
Over the past few days, a flurry of news has come out about LeBron James and the possibility of his time as a Laker coming to a close.
First, it was the report that the Warriors and Sixers inquired about LeBron James at the trade deadline. Obviously, that resulted in nothing, as the Lakers kept their roster as is and focused on the buyout market. They ultimately found the ball-handling guard they were looking for, signing Spencer Dinwiddie to the Lakers.
Even though it didn’t happen, the report of James potentially being traded did send shockwaves across the NBA world. According to Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha of The Atheltic, it wasn’t anywhere near happening.
“The Lakers, meanwhile, maintain that they have no intention of trading James, according to multiple team sources. Their preference is for James to retire with the Lakers — a stance that a high-ranked team source reiterated to The Athletic Wednesday.”
Hopefully, this news can cool down the hot takes and remind fans that while teams can ask about a player, it doesn’t mean a deal is imminent. I mean, didn’t we just spend weeks upon weeks discussing Dejounte Murray getting traded to the Lakers and ultimately that didn’t occur?
Granted, that seemed much more realistic than James joining Steph Curry in the Bay, but the results were the same; it didn’t happen and won’t happen anytime soon.
The Lakers’ intention on James retiring here makes sense. He’s still playing at an All-Star starter level and replacing his value and impact on and off the court is virtually impossible. No team has ever traded the King and unless he’s demanding it, dealing him away would be a bad look and likely result in the Lakers taking a step back as a franchise.
Regardless, a trade is impossible at this time. In the summer, James will either pick up his player option, decline it and sign on for more years, go somewhere else, or even retire.
James’ future as a Laker may be up in the air, but all parties seem to be steering in the same direction. The Lakers want title No. 18 and James wants title No. 5 as he continues to add to his myriad of achievements and further build up his arguments as the greatest of all time.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
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