LeBron James on Possible Lakers Trades: Ask the GM Those Questions

With the Lakers struggling and not looking much like a playoff team, and losing Anthony Davis to another injury to boot, questions about saving the season are starting to surface.

Namely, can the Lakers pull off a trade to make it happen?

“Not a question for me,” star forward LeBron James told reporters, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “I have no idea. When I’m playing, I show up, prepare, go to work and get my guys ready to go win a basketball game. I play the game, I’m not in the front office, so we’ll see. But I’m focused on the game and us trying to win basketball games, especially when I’m out on the floor.”

James wasn’t finished though. He brought up Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, whose job it is to construct the roster.

“Go ask Rob those questions,” James said to the reporter who asked about trades as James left his media availability.

The Lakers failed to even qualify for the play-in tournament last season, and are in danger of not doing so again this season, as James approaches his 38th birthday.

And now Davis is expected to miss about a month with a foot injury — leaving James and Russell Westbrook as the stars who must steer the ship. And as we all know by now, Westbrook’s time in LA has been a bit unpredictable. 

“They are still a very flawed roster,” ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy told Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated, “but Davis, James and Westbrook have played well — and most importantly, well together — since James returned from injury. However, without a major upgrade to the roster, it’s difficult to see how they can be more than a play-in team.”

Basically, the Lakers are indeed again grappling for answers. But as James indicated, those solutions are ultimately made by the GM. 

The bleak situation LeBron James now faces in Los Angeles is virtually unprecedented for a player of his age and caliber, writes @HowardBeck https://t.co/gX7VfemMLB pic.twitter.com/Z7ZD2hEVpc

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 19, 2022