{"id":17834,"date":"2024-12-16T14:36:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=17834"},"modified":"2024-12-16T14:36:41","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T14:36:41","slug":"big-reveals-why-lakers-need-to-trade-lebron-james-to-warriors-to-save-their-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=17834","title":{"rendered":"BIG REVEALS: Why Lakers Need to Trade LeBron James to Warriors to Save Their Future?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Should the league\u2019s oldest player be offloaded this year?<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n
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Should the league\u2019s oldest player be moved this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron James is submitting another solid year, although the first time in a while he seems to have taken a significant step backwards on offense.<\/p>\n

The four-time league MVP just signed an appetizing new multi-year deal with L.A. in the 2024 offseason, and is still averaging an entirely respectable 23.0 points on .495\/.359\/.762 shooting splits, 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds for the 13-11 Lakers, the No. 8 seed in a talented Western Conference.<\/p>\n

He has appeared in 23 of the team\u2019s 24 games so far this year, but will miss his second straight bout on Friday night with a sore left foot.<\/p>\n

James has long been floated as a potential trade fit for the Golden State Warriors, a longtime playoff rival of James\u2019 during his tenures with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers. James has gone 2-3 against Golden State.<\/p>\n

Future Hall of Famers Stephen Curry, 36, and Draymond Green, 34, are no spring chickens themselves.<\/p>\n

The team seems anxious to maximize its youth as assets and keep a window open for Curry as long as he remains at an All-NBA level. To do that, Warriors team president Mike Dunleavy Jr. should try to make a bid for a star. The 14-10 Warriors are currently pretty solid, but could certainly benefit from the addition of James as a scorer, rebounder and passer.<\/p>\n

During a Friday assessment of the state of the league,\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps\u00a0took stock of some of the juicier trade stories and rumors this year so far.<\/p>\n

Naturally, they took stock of the Warriors\u2019 and Lakers\u2019 relative interest in a possible James deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fun parlor game to consider whether LeBron might change teams one last time,\u201d Windhorst writes. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be a pro basketball reporter to see the chemistry he had with Stephen Curry in last summer\u2019s Olympics and to figure out how the Golden State Warriors could put together an offer.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut simply, it\u2019s just a game,\u201d Windhorst adds. \u201cJames has repeatedly made two things clear both in public and behind the scenes: He wants to be a Laker, and the trades hhe wants involve the Lakers making roster upgrades around him. James had chances at last season\u2019s trade deadline and during his unrestricted free agency to consider a move. There was no drama, as he quickly and repeatedly pledged to stay.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

James actually took a marginal discount in signing a still very lucrative two-year, $101.4 million deal to remain in Los Angeles through the 2025-26 season, although he has a player option he could decline that year.<\/p>\n

\u201cJonathan Kuminga is in a vital time in his tenure with the Warriors,\u201d Windhorst allowed. \u201cOver the past two weeks, coach Steve Kerr has put him in the starting lineup and boosted his minutes, touches and shots.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Kuminga, 22, was selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He\u2019s averaging 15.2 points on .444\/.310\/.582 shooting splits, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 dishes a night. He\u2019s a solid, athletic player with some upside \u2014 although whether he can ever blossom into an All-Star remains an open question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWarriors owner Joe Lacob still has an affinity for Kuminga, league sources told ESPN, even as Kerr seems to run hot and cold with him. But a strong message came this fall when Kuminga and the team didn\u2019t agree to a contract extension,\u201d Windhorst observed. \u201cIf the Warriors do pull off a significant deal before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, it\u2019s hard to see it not including Kuminga.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers, armed with James and fellow future Hall of Famer Anthony Davis, don\u2019t seem likely to compete for anything more than a play-in seed any time soon.<\/p>\n

Even a trade to improve their current club (L.A. has two first round picks it could use in any deal, plus probable All-Rookie First Team shooting guard Dalton Knecht) doesn\u2019t seem likely to move the Lakers into that West top tier led by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n

Moving James, who still looks like at an All-Star in a record-tying 22nd season, is the exact kind of factory reset move that could help improve the team\u2019s timeline.<\/p>\n

The Warriors have the youth, contracts, and draft equity to make a deal worthwhile for both sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Should the league\u2019s oldest player be offloaded this year? Should the league\u2019s oldest player be moved this year? 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers All-Star power forward LeBron James… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17835,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\nBIG REVEALS: Why Lakers Need to Trade LeBron James to Warriors to Save Their Future? - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=17834\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BIG REVEALS: Why Lakers Need to Trade LeBron James to Warriors to Save Their Future? - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Should the league\u2019s oldest player be offloaded this year? 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