LeBron James has an NBA-record 23rd season around the corner, and he could shake things up significantly, depending on how things play out with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Meanwhile, James is “closely monitoring the Lakers’ moves and whether the team is positioning itself” to win an NBA championship, ESPN’s Shams Charania wrote regarding Paul’s statements. That means the Lakers could either build a win-now roster around James, or James could shake up the league, whether the Lakers trade him this year or let him walk in free agency next year.
NBA general managers weren’t ready for this possibility, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported during The Hoops Collective podcast on Monday. It would cost an interested team a king’s ransom to land James, the four-time champion and four-time MVP.
“When this (Rich Paul) statement came out, I began to call teams. I identified the teams that I could see LeBron trying to be traded to,” Windhorst said during the podcast. “I did not find a team that was prepared for this. I talked to a handful of teams and they were all caught flat-footed by this.”
Despite the “flat-footed” reaction around the league, the trade rumors have abounded since Sunday. Speculated suitors include the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and New York Knicks.
Another includes the team where he started his career—the Cleveland Cavaliers. A northeast Ohio native, James brought the first-ever NBA title to Cleveland in 2016 before he joined the Lakers.
While the Cavaliers would have serious salary cap work to do in order to make that trade happen, Cleveland had the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and looked poised for multiple years of on-court success. In addition, James once commented about Cleveland as his last stop.
Circumstances have changed drastically for James in 11 years since his return to Cleveland, as almost all of his children are grown. But he has expressed his loyalty to his hometown and state throughout his career. In addition, the Cavaliers may be better positioned to win a title next season than the Lakers.
That said, James more recently dropped mention of two teams in 2022 that he could see himself with instead of the Lakers. James notably mentioned the teams amid a more casual environment of The Shop, an HBO show where sports and pop culture celebrities dialogue and banter at a barbershop.
“If there’s one team that I know I could make an immediate impact in the postseason, and we could be very special—it would either be Miami or Golden State. For sure,” James said on the show.
Golden State still has star guard Steph Curry, and the Warriors reached the Western Conference semifinals this season. In addition, Golden State added star guard Jimmy Butler during the season, ironically from the Heat.
Miami doesn’t look as poised for James to return after a 37–45 season and a first-round playoff exit. The Heat had only one All-Star in guard Tyler Herro, but Miami could make moves in free agency to improve the roster.
That’s ultimately what the Lakers must do, too, in order to keep James. The Lakers traded away Anthony Davis last season for Luka Doncic and got bounced in the first round of the playoffs, which left things lacking on James’s end in his eighth year with the team.
“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career,” Paul told ESPN. “He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive, and want what’s best for him.”
