The 2021-22 NBA season could not have gone worse for the Los Angeles Lakers. They entered the season with high expectations, as they were among the favorites to win the NBA Championship but they didn’t even have a chance to compete for the title. They didn’t even qualify for the NBA Play-In Tournament.
This is a team that needs to make some drastic changes this offseason. The roster isn’t built in a way to compete any time soon, as they have to make fundamental changes. There has been a formula for success when building a team around LeBron James, but for some reason, the Lakers’ front office went in a different direction last offseason.
Now, they have to do whatever they can to hit the reset button and put some better-fitting talent around James. It is easier said than done, but they have to turn over every rock and do due diligence on every possible move to see what kind of players they can bring in.
Trading Russell Westbrook is something that should be explored, but his value is about as low as it can get. Anthony Davis could bring back some solid pieces, but his injury history makes him someone that is difficult to trust.
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That brings us to LeBron James. Could the Lakers seriously consider moving him? During a recent appearance on First Take on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith made it clear that he certainly believes that is the course of action for the Lakers to take.
They can consider it, and then quickly realize that isn’t the route they are going to take. If they want to have any chance of turning things around, they need to keep James on the roster. Injuries have begun piling up as well, but when he is on the court, he has proven he can still get the job done.
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LeBron James would have been in the MVP discussion with his statistics this season had he not been injured and the Los Angeles Lakers been more competitive. If the Lakers entertain trading James, they can kiss any chances of competing for a title in the near future goodbye.
Getting fair value for James will be impossible. He is 37-years old and would be entering his 20th season in the league, on an expiring contract nonetheless. No team is trading away a boatload of assets for him at this point in time, especially since he has made his late-career plans very clear that he wants to finish things out playing alongside his son.
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Teams would rather take their chances of landing LeBron James as a free agent than trade players and picks for him only to watch him leave in free agency shortly after. While Smith makes some valid points, such as the depth of the Western Conference, trading James should be a non-starter for the Los Angeles Lakers.
