Everyone seems to be talking about the possibility of LeBron James asking the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him sometime in the near future. Rich Paul, his agent, issued a statement on June 29 that many have interpreted as a prelude to a trade request, but Paul reportedly hasn’t had any discussions with the Lakers about trading James.
It seems very likely, when one thinks rationally about the entire situation, that James will still be a member of the Lakers when training camp starts. Perhaps neither he nor Paul will say anything of substance about James’ situation with the team for the rest of the summer.
In the meantime, Paul appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio and said that James should simply enjoy his summer, even as various people who cover the NBA speculate about the superstar’s immediate future.
“There’s so many voices in today’s game and around today’s game in media and stuff like that, and everyone has a job to do. For us, let those people do their job, it’s not for us to rebuttal or try to give clarity on what’s said, what’s not said. That’s not the focus. The focus is, hey man, enjoy your summer… You can’t dispel everything someone has to say and you’ve been around this thing a lot time, there’s never been an expectation on anyone like it’s been on him. But my thing is just continue to find your joy. You can’t go out here and try to prove everyone wrong or try to align with or make sure everyone is right. The critique is gonna be the critique, and this is for all players, by the way. I think everyone’s journey is a lot different.”
Even if James comes out and explicitly asks the Lakers to trade him, working something out that would land him on a team that has enough talent left over to compete for the NBA championship while satisfying both teams in terms of the trade parameters would be very difficult. Plus, since James is now on an expiring contract, one has to wonder how much another team would be willing to give up assets for what could be a one-year rental.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks said recently that there is no trade market for the 40-year-old. On the other hand, a few teams, including the Golden State Warriors, considered making an offer for him, and in fact, Paul was reportedly contacted by multiple teams that were interested in the future Hall of Famer.
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