There are three potential trades that the Los Angeles can make at the NBA Trade Deadline to ensure LeBron James re-signing with the team long-term after the season.
Even at the ripe age of 39, LeBron James is still an amazing player. Looking at where the Los Angeles Lakers sit in the Western Conference standings, that may be a difficult conclusion to find. However, the fact that LeBron is averaging 25 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists per game on 52 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from 3-point range at 39 years old is absolutely amazing.
But even posting outlandish numbers for a player in his 21st season in the NBA, one thing has become clear over the last couple of seasons - it's that LeBron needs help. He can't carry a team alone. Heading into the NBA Trade Deadline, the Lakers are on the clock. To add more pressure to their shoulders, LeBron could opt out of his contract with the team during the offseason to test free agency. Even though there hasn't been much talk of his possibility, I'm not sure it's something that needs to be completely overlooked heading into the deadline.
Heading into the final week before the trade deadline, it's pretty safe to say that LeBron is watching.
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— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 31, 2024
That leaves me to wonder, what moves would qualify as big enough that get the attention of LeBron to the extent that he'd be jumping at the opportunity to re-sign with the Lakers after this season? I came up with three. With OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam already off the board, there understandably aren't many.
The Brooklyn Nets' trio
The Brooklyn Nets trio that I'm referencing here is who the Lakers have already been linked to in recent days. If there's a way that Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka can swing a deal for Spencer Dinwiddie, Royce O'Neale, and Dorian Finney-Smith to completely restructure the supporting cast around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it can go a long way in mimicking a similar-type of deadline deal that the Lakers had last season.
If you remember correctly, in completely retooling the supporting cast a year ago, the Lakers managed to make a move up the Western Conference standings and make an unlikely and unforeseen run to the Western Conference Finals.
If the Lakers are able to pull off something similar to last season, you'd have to imagine that would be enough for LeBron to re-sign on the dotted line for at least another 2-3 seasons, perhaps ultimately leading to his eventual retirement with the team.