The writing is on the wall. LeBron James leaves Los Angeles this offseason if he still wants to win championships in his career.
Why is it so urgent? Why this season, when James’ contract expires in 2023 and he can sign anywhere he wants as a free agent?
Before LeBron joined the Lakers, he played in over 70 regular season games all but twice in his 15 previous seasons.
Since moving to LA, he has yet to hit that 70-game mark. Additionally, he’s played 60 or fewer games 3 out of his last four seasons, something he had never done prior.
It’s a harsh reality, but it’s entirely possible that within the next three years, King James will retire from basketball. What he does in that time will determine his legacy and whether or not he is regarded as the greatest player of all time or the second greatest.
The Lakers Won’t Admit It, But They Are Entering A New Era
So LeBron comes to Los Angeles, wins a championship in his second season, and remains actively plotting to build a roster that can win him a second one.
Midway through it, the Lakers decide to hire a new coach? And publicly praise Russell Westbrook, the guy whose terrible fit with LeBron turned the Lakeshow into a circus?
Whatever happened to not changing horses midstream?
“Don’t get it messed up. Russ is one of the best players out league has ever seen.”
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) June 6, 2022
New Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has high praise for Russell Westbrook during his introductory press conference. pic.twitter.com/DCvKowxmus
Next season, Westbrook will eat up $47 million of the Lakers’ salary cap. Anthony Davis will take up another $37 million. Combined with LeBron’s salary of $44 million next season, almost all of Los Angeles’ cap space is completely tied up. But the team can’t settle for moves on the margins to fix a deeply flawed team.
The Lakers’ front office might’ve been able to talk themselves into keeping Westbrook, but barring any drastic changes, this roster will have the same fundamental flaws that saw them go 33-49 a season ago.
If LeBron stays, he’s wasting one of his last few precious seasons in which he can still be an elite contributor on a championship team. There’s no guarantee that Davis will be healthy for next season or that Westbrook will be able to fit in alongside his teammates.
However, there is a guarantee that 29 other teams would be interested if James requested a trade.
If LeBron James Leaves, What’s The Plan?
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook make up three of the NBA’s fifteen highest-paid players. Because of salary-matching, making a move involving any of the three would require a large amount of salary-filler to return to LA.
It goes without saying that Westbrook is grossly overpaid at this point in his career. But teams are likely to hesitate in putting much faith in Davis as well after his numerous injuries in Los Angeles.
Why would teams trade over $35 million in assets for either Davis or Westbrook, given the risk?
Going through the rest of LA’s roster, all one will find is cheap contracts that other front offices aren’t exactly licking their lips over. It feels weird, but LeBron James right now is one of the Lakers’ most tradeable players.
So James requests a trade. What happens next?
LeBron James has yet to sign a contract extension, and his current deal expires in 2023. James can either request a trade to a contending team and re-sign after next season or become a free agent and choose among the top teams in 2023.
LeBron only having one year left on his contract gives him leverage. He can request a trade while saying that he’ll only re-sign with a certain few teams. Without actually signing an extension, LeBron is free to go as he pleases, but front offices likely would not make the kind of massive trade it would take to acquire James without some assurance that he would re-sign.
Sounds like the status quo of offseason shenanigans for a Klutch Sports client.
What’s In It For The Lakers?
Even if LeBron requests a trade, the Lakers don’t have to follow through. But it’s actually in their best interest to do so.
Of LA’s “big three,” only Anthony Davis is under contract past 2023. Talen Horton-Tucker is the only other player also signed past next season. In addition, eight players from last season do not have contracts bringing them back for the 2022-23 campaign.
The Lakers gutted their future draft capital and young talent in the deal that brought Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. They likely will not own their own first-round draft choice until 2026.
Stop Digging
This entire Lakers roster is on life support.
If LeBron requests a trade and names the teams he wants to go to, Los Angeles loses some negotiation leverage. But at this point, any assets they get in return for James would be a positive.
LA still has no guarantee that James re-signs after 2023. LeBron himself has been on the record that he’d like to, at some point, play with his son, Bronny, if he were to be drafted in a few years.
Why should the Lakers let James potentially walk for nothing in 2023 when their front office could potentially get something in return for him now?
James cares about his legacy more than he does Los Angeles and knows that he still has a lot of ground to cover if he wants to catch Michael Jordan and retire as basketball’s GOAT.
LeBron still has time to catch up, but not if he lets his last few seasons go to waste. Another championship or two could do the trick, but any additional title can’t be won in LA.
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