NBA Trade Rumors: The Los Angeles Lakers are unlikely to trade LeBron James, even if he declines to sign an extension.
Heading into the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers have their work cut out for them. Not only do they have to find a resolution for Russell Westbrook, but they need to figure out how to retool around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Another issue that has to be on the minds of the Lakers front office is the fact that LeBron will be entering the final year of his contract. Los Angeles will likely offer LeBron an extension, but there’s no guarantee he’ll accept it.
And based on the way LeBron likes to keep the power on his side, it would be extremely surprising if he did sign an extension with the Lakers this offseason. LeBron declining to sign an extension could throw an interesting wrench in LA’s offseason.
There’s a growing narrative that suggests the Lakers should consider trading LeBron should he not sign an extension. However, per those informed, that seems unlikely.
According to a recent report from The Athletic, the Lakers are unlikely to trade LeBron even if he doesn’t sign an extension this offseason.
This isn’t exactly surprising. It would be a huge surprise if the Lakers would trade LeBron, even if he isn’t willing to commit long-term to the team. After all, what other option would the team have?
Trading LeBron would open a can of worms, even more so if it’s not something that LeBron wouldn’t want. But this is a huge offseason. The Lakers need to prove that they can still build a contending team around LeBron. They took a huge step back this past offseason with the Russell Westbrook mistake.