LeBron James deserves better. Last season, despite the best efforts of the four-time NBA Champion, the Los Angeles Lakers completed a woeful season with a 33-49 record, and things aren’t going much better this season.
Frank Vogel, who led the Lakers to an NBA title in 2019-20, lost his job as head coach after the poor displays in 2021-22, and his replacement Darvin Ham isn’t faring much better. The Los Angeles Lakers now stand at 3-10, and though the season is long and early days, it will take quite a turnaround for the Crypto.com Arena side to achieve anything in this campaign.
As you can see on the odds comparison site sidelines.io, the Lakers have fallen out of the NBA title betting and now stand at around (+10000) with most sportsbooks. A player like LeBron James shouldn’t be seeing out the latter stages of his glittering career at such a failing team, especially when he is still very much delivering the goods.
There is growing speculation that he may be considering his future and there is reported interest from the Phoenix Suns. That move may end up suiting all parties, and an anonymous NBA scout has discussed this possibility with Fox Sports;
“If the Lakers were to move James, it presumably would be to acquire the treasure trove of future picks they currently lack,”
“A Western Conference scout pointed to the Phoenix Suns as a far more ideal candidate should they find themselves once again falling short this season in their quest for the franchise’s first championship after reaching the Finals two years ago and then getting knocked out in a seven-game, second-round series by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks last year.”
The strong friendship between James and Chris Paul could prove pivotal in any such move;
“It’s the one place he’d be welcome with open arms,”
“In Phoenix, with LeBron, I think Chris would finally get his ring.” the source added.
LeBron James’ form last season put him in the running for the NBA MVP, which is astounding when you see just how badly the Lakers were, and this season he’s top-scored in six of their 13 games.
Talk of the Lakers losing LeBron may have seemed ridiculous 18 months ago, but the rumours are growing. Jay Williams, co-host of the Keyshawn, JWill & Max show, laid out the reasons for such a deal;
“I don’t think anything’s out of the realm anymore. I look at this Lakers team … (vice president of basketball operations) Rob Pelinka and (owner) Jeanie Buss is going to look at this stage where they’re going to have to think about, are they going to jeopardize … the future of this franchise?”
“Will LeBron want to be there long-term after next year? I’m not sure that’s the case.”
There is a case for the Lakers looking to make as much as they can from such a deal, with the franchise’s future potentially boosted by the picks they’d secure from such a trade.
