A championship contender has been urged to trade for Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James.
Hall of Famer George Karl tweeted on October 27th that the Denver Nuggets should trade for James.
Karl coached the Nuggets for nine seasons, compiling a record of 423-257 in the regular season and 21-38 in the playoffs. He won the 2012-13 Coach of the Year Award after guiding Denver to 57 wins.
The Lakers lost to the Nuggets on October 26th in Denver by a final score of 110-99. Los Angeles is 0-4 on the season. James, 37, put up 19 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and eight turnovers in the loss while shooting 38.1% from the field, 25.0% from beyond the arc and 1-of-2 from the free-throw line. The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP finished with a plus-minus of -7.
The Nuggets improved to 3-2 on the season after defeating the Lakers. If they acquired James, they could become the overwhelming favorite to win the title since they would have Nikola Jokic and James, two of the greatest players in NBA history.
However, James is ineligible to be traded this season because the second year of his extension exceeds a 5% raise.
Yahoo Sports: Lakers Should Blow It Up
Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports believes the Lakers should blow up the roster by trading James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. Davis and Westbrook can be traded right now, but James can’t be traded until February 18th, 2023, which is after the trade deadline. So the summer of 2023 is when the King could be moved.
“I think they should just say, ‘You know what? From an extreme case, trade AD, trade LeBron, trade Russ if you can. Start all over,’” Goodwill said on October 24th. “Because what you have is not sustainable, even in this season. By ‘sustainable,’ I mean — even if you get Buddy Hield and Myles Turner — that makes you, what, a sixth seed in the Western Conference? That’s not Laker expectations. That’s not LeBron James expectations. There’s no path to get better. So why not just tear it down?”
The Lakers aren’t a good basketball team. They are last in the NBA in offensive rating and second to last in points per game. Los Angeles is shooting only 22.3% from beyond the arc as a team this season.
James and Davis are putting up stellar numbers, but the roster around them is so putrid that it doesn’t matter how well the two champions play. The Lakers don’t have any shooters around LeBron and AD. General manager Rob Pelinka constructed another flawed team, which is why so many fans are upset he received a contract extension.
LeBron Made a Mistake Signing an Extension With the Lakers
James signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers that includes a player option for the 2024-25 season. While the extension — which includes a 15% trade kicker — made James the highest-earning player in NBA history with $532 million in guaranteed money, the future Hall of Famer tied himself to a team that isn’t close to winning a championship.
James is two championships and two Finals MVPs away from tying his childhood idol, Michael Jordan. It doesn’t appear he’s going to win a second ring with the Lakers with the way things are going right now. If LBJ is serious about catching Jordan, he needs to request a trade in the summer of 2023.
A trade could benefit both the Lakers and James. Los Angeles would get valuable assets in return for James and LeBron would escape the dysfunction that’s going on in LA under Pelinka’s leadership.
