LeBron's Best Shot at NBA Title is with Steph Curry, Warriors Amid Lakers Trade Rumors
LeBron James has been the face of the Los Angeles Lakers since arriving in Hollywood in 2018. He won the organization its first title in a decade in 2020 and turned in another strong performance last year in his age-40 season.
Still one of the league's elite, his best chance of winning a fifth NBA title is no longer in Los Angeles, where the front office is transitioning from a team centered around the best of his generation to one led by Luka Dončić.
Amid the all of the maneuvering going on behind the scenes with the Lakers, Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst reported for ESPN that the Golden State Warriors were one team that had reached out to Los Angeles about a potential deal for James.
It is with that team, and stars Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, that James has the best chance to win that elusive championship.
Any deal between the two teams would see the Warriors give up a substantial package for James, with Jonathan Kuminga likely included. Brandin Podziemski maybe another asset shipped off to Los Angeles, along with several draft picks.
That may seem like a lot to give up for an aging player with one or two more seasons left, but this is no ordinary older player. At age 40, James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and shot 51.3 percent from the paint.
He missed 12 games due to injury but he still averaged 34.9 minutes per, proving that age has not adversely affected his ability to be on the court and contribute significantly when healthy.
Starting him at power forward, with Butler at small forward, and Curry facilitating the offense at point guard would create a three-headed monster few teams would be able to contend with.
All three are veteran players, have competed at the highest level and in the highest-pressure situations, and have more basketball IQ than some of the most talented young stars in the league will ever amass.
As history tells us, James is at his best when playing with a trio of stars, as proven during his time in Miami with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh and in Cleveland, with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Is it a trade likely to go down? Probably not, but in a league that saw Dončić traded in a deal that stunned the sports world, nothing is impossible.
