LeBron James Won’t Demand Trade From Lakers, Though He Probably Should

Location and family are pretty much the only things keeping LeBron James from demanding a trade from the Lakers, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

It sure isn’t the idea that the Lakers will bring him more rings — at least, not as they are constructed today.

James left the Cavaliers for Los Angeles in 2018 with Hollywood in his sights. It is believed his family’s desire to live in California, or specifically, LA played a big role in that.

But aside from a championship in a Walt Disney auxiliary gym in 2020, things have not gone well from a basketball standpoint. The Lakers traded for Anthony Davis first, then Russell Westbrook.

Davis is spectacular when he can stay on the court — which ain’t much. Westbrook has been better lately, but overall, the deal hasn’t worked out. The Lakers would’ve been better off keeping the pieces they sent to the Wizards in exchange. That much is painfully obvious now.

And given that the Pelicans suddenly have the look of a West contender, and Davis is only occasionally available, you could make a similar case with that trade. The Pelicans look to be going places. The Lakers are not.

They would love to trade Westbrook, and they often float stories in the media that other teams are interested. They’re not. Maybe in February, someone will be willing to take Westbrook’s expiring deal … but it would be for a bunch of bench players. If Westbrook is the trade chip, the Lakers are helpless to get better.

As for replacing Frank Vogel with new coach Darvin Ham, it’s made not one bit of difference. Ham is a great guy and definitely deserved a chance to be a head coach. The Lakers, however, are every bit as bad as they were with Vogel.

As for James, well, there seems to be no slowing him down. He’s not going to carry a team to greatness on a night-in, night-out basis anymore. He can still very much carry himself to greatness — as witnessed by his 47-point eruption against the downtrodden Hawks. This on his 38th birthday.

It’s remarkable what he can still do, and perhaps equally remarkable that guys in the prime of their careers can’t keep him from doing it.

It’s also true that James can’t be traded this season, because of the timing of the two-year extension he signed over the summer. But without a doubt, the Lakers will be this bad at the end of the season, too. 

So why he wants to do what he can still do with the Lakers … well, it’s tough to understand. But if it’s for family and not for rings, it’s hard to argue with that reasoning. LeBron’s family wants him in LA, so that is where he shall stay.

The Lakers’ slide into irrelevancy bugs him, but not enough to leave.