On Thursday, a reporter put out the news that the Lakers were close to moving LeBron James. If the trade rumors come true and the Lakers do trade LeBron, it would shock the world. He’s one of, if not the greatest basketball players of all time. According to KTLA’s David Pingalore, who broke Kawhi Leonard to the Clippers before Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers have put a feeler out on LeBron and are close to a suitor. However, his agent Rich Paul says that a trade won’t happen.
“LeBron won’t be traded, and we aren’t asking to be,” Paul said, via ESPN.
Whether or not that is the case, the Lakers are 25-25 through 50 games this season. If the playoffs started today, the Lakers would miss them entirely. James, 39, is in the middle of his 21st season in the NBA. The veteran is still averaging 24.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game on the year.
The Lakers have been active in trade talks this season. With the NBA Trade deadline quickly approaching, rumors are swirling, the LeBron rumors may or may not be true. However, James himself may have contributed to those rumors by posting an hourglass on X following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Although, James could have been referring to his player option in the offseason. The dream has been to play with his son Bronny James, who is a candidate to enter the 2024 NBA Draft. LeBron has until June 29 to pick up his player option, two days after the draft. If he doesn’t then he’ll become an unrestricted free agent, where he likely would sign with the team that drafts Bronny.
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