Why the Lakers should trade LeBron James — now

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LeBron James was out for dinner when news his Los Angeles Lakers had traded for Luka Dončić took him by surprise, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. It is hard to believe that James was blindsided by the news, since the agent he shares with Anthony Davis, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, was reportedly alerted to the proposal in the days before a deal; but it makes some sense, because this deal is not about James.

This trade was about the opportunity to acquire a 25-year-old perennial MVP candidate at half the cost.

It was not about this season, either. The Lakers are not winning a championship with James making 35% of their salary cap. It will be incredible theater for James and Dončić to share the floor together. If Dončić adopts James’ conditioning regimen, the Lakers will be better for it, but James is 40 years old; he cannot sustain the kind of peak two-way performance they need from his $48.7 million for an entire playoff run.

Which is why the Lakers should trade James now.

The Lakers have been 9.8 points per 100 meaningful possessions worse when James is on the floor this season, per Cleaning the Glass. They have been outscored by 6.5 points per 100 non-garbage possessions with James and without Davis, equivalent to a 23-win team. They owned a bottom-10 defense with Davis, and to that mix they are adding Dončić, whose former team identified defense as reason for trading him.

Dončić and James should make for a spectacular offense. They are two of the greatest playmakers in the history of the game, seeing things others cannot, and when they find each other it will be magical. But no team can build a championship-caliber defense with Dončić, James and Austin Reaves as their top three. Lineups featuring James and Reaves and not Davis have already been equal to the NBA’s worst defense.

The Lakers will target a rim protector before Thursday’s trade deadline. Nicolas Claxton and Robert Williams III leap to mind as possibilities. Either one would cement them as serious playoff threats, though they are multiple pieces away from true championship contention — another 3-and-D wing, another bench guy, the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-the-lakers-should-trade-lebron-james–now-203741257.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-03 20:37:00

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