SUMMARY
- LA Lakers' rough January fuels trade speculations, with LeBron James possibly on the move.
- LeBron's cryptic post adds intrigue to his potential departure.
The Los Angeles Lakers are past a tumultuous January that witnessed them succumb to a sub.500 performance consecutively. While the head coach, Darvin Ham, was the target of all the bashing, there seemed to be something cooking. After facing back-to-back losses and a double overtime win over the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers trailed behind the Houston Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks.
This solidifies the speculation that the front office might be eyeing a third-point scorer to strengthen the roster. However, could that include trading LeBron James to another franchise, which seems a bit odd? While the James-less Los Angeles Lakers tackled the Boston Celtics and won the game, Rob Pelinka was searching for the best franchise to trade LeBron.
— Guru (@DrGuru_) February 1, 2024
As per NBA sources, ‘King James’ is on top of the trade list, and that might become a reality before the NBA 2024 Trade Deadline hits. It’s merely 6 days remaining before the February 8 deadline, and this move alone can surpass every other blockbuster trade that happened in 2023–24. However, the question is whether James will be willing to leave the Lakers or not.
As David Pingalore, KTLA sports anchor and reporter, bombarded the league with this humongous news, fans expressed all types of feelings. While some are concerned about the roster this development will trade him to, others are spellbound. A sect is still suspicious of whether the rumor holds any ground or not, as Shams Charania or Adrian Wojnarowski did not give this insight.
Will LeBron James leave the Los Angeles Lakers?
‘The Akron Hammer’ has never been traded in his career before. On top of that, it’s hard to give an estimate of the potential value of the 39-year-old. Unlike any other player at 39, James remains an All-NBA talent who can still lead his roster into the playoffs. However, on the contrary, the Lakers have only witnessed a downfall after winning the championship in 2020.
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— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 31, 2024
On the other hand, it’s LeBron who is willing to clock more than 35 minutes on the floor for consecutive games. One can understand this fact from his 36-point performance in double overtime vs. the Dubs nation.
But LeBron’s cryptic ‘hourglass’ post does point toward a relevant suspicion. On January 30, 2024, ‘King of Longevity’ dropped an hourglass emoticon on his “X” handle. The audience was astonished because the timing clashed with the approaching deadline.
On top of that, the deepening disconnect with the head coach, Ham, and the fact that the team’s defense relies entirely on ‘Bron’ might have made him frustrated. Well, if the rumors stand true, then the fans are also speculating whether he will join the Dallas Mavericks.
When is LeBron’s contract ending?
The overall first draft pick of 2003 inked a two-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023. The exorbitant contract was worth $99,023,288 guaranteed at signing and is bound to last until the 2024–25 season. However, the contract has a player option for the 2024–25 season with a base salary of $51,415,938.
James is currently riding on an average salary of $47,607,350 for the 2023–24 season. And this massive value might be difficult for other teams to sanction. LeBron is in his 21st season in the league and doesn’t seem to be looking for father time.