Lakers Rumors: Latest on LeBron James and Potential D'Angelo Russell Trade
The Los Angeles Lakers' offseason is starting to take shape. With Ben Simmons all but confirming Tuesday that the Philadelphia 76ers will select him with the first overall selection, we might as well begin stitching the Brandon Ingram Lakers jersey.
Who the Lakers select at No. 32 depends on circumstance—it's likely your typical best-player-available situation, given the barren roster. Their biggest offseason questions will surround signing free-agent guard Jordan Clarkson, installing new head coach Luke Walton and moving on from the Kobe Bryant era. L.A. has enough cap room to sign at least two max-level free agents, so this might be the offseason where the Lakers finally strike gold.
Unfortunately for them, this free-agent class is filled with a lot of bronze after the top couple of guys. One particular rumor, however, gives them an outside chance of landing one of those gems. Let's take a look at that and the other major buzz floating around L.A. at the moment.
LeBron Considering Lakers if He Bolts Cleveland?
LeBron James reached immortality Sunday night. He's unimpeachably great. Whatever remains of his career will be about adding to his legacy as one of the half-dozen greatest players in NBA history.
Bringing Cleveland a championship, in a comeback against the 73-win Warriors, is one of the greatest accomplishments in league history. LeBron has also created a situation where "The Decision" is a thing of the past; he's the beloved, conquering hero once more with nothing left to prove.
And apparently he's considering setting that all on fire to be a Laker. Stephen A. Smith of ESPN's First Take threw out this rumor on the program Monday:
Let's give this news the coverage it deserves. Nope. Nah. Uh-uh. Not a chance in the world.
We heard this in 2010. And in 2014. And some people even decided to throw this nonsense out into the world last summer, when it was obvious James was just going to do another one-plus deal in Cleveland.
So, for the love of all things holy, let's spell it out: LeBron James will not be a Los Angeles Laker.
If that is unhelpful, here is a list of people who are more likely to play for the Lakers next season than LeBron:
- Kobe Bryant
- Joe "Jellybean" Bryant
- An actual jelly bean
- Iggy Azalea
- Dwight Howard
Lakers Considering Russell Trade for a Top-5 Pick?
D'Angelo Russell's first season in Los Angeles could have gone better. He spent the early part of the campaign working his way out of the doghouse with a bad coach, played second fiddle behind Kobe and had to split time with Clarkson.
Oh, and recording Nick Young's admission to cheating on Ms. Azalea? That was, um, not the best.
There is no doubt the situation has damaged Russell's stock. No Foot Locker commercial can erase that stain. It's hard to know how much the situation has changed how his teammates view Russell behind the scenes, but the possibility of a trade has been floating ever since the recording leaked.
ESPN's Chad Ford, appearing on SportsCenter, said the Lakers may be floating Russell to acquire a second top-five pick.
"I think more likely the Lakers are trying to pick up another pick in this draft in the top five, and the guy that they have that they can shop is D'Angelo Russell, a guy who was their No. 2 pick in the draft last year but burned some bridges in the locker room," Ford said, per James Herbert of CBS Sports.
We can't discount this as a possibility. If the Lakers feel Russell will never recover from the controversy, they have to consider moving him. Getting a top-five pick in this class is more like a late lottery pick from 2015, given the respective strength of the two classes, but it's not a bad haul if another future first-rounder or a young piece is attached.
From a basketball perspective, it's a nightmare. Russell is a 20-point, five-assist, five-rebound player in the making. He averaged 15.1 points, 3.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game after the All-Star break, knocking 38.9 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Nine of his 13 games of 20-plus points were after the break.
If you redrafted the 2015 class, Russell wouldn't go any lower than fourth and—hot take alert—I still like him more than Kristaps Porzingis over the long term. Perhaps it's evaluation bias, but Russell was dealt a terrible hand last season. If Young can't coexist with Russell, stretch Young out and move on with the player who can actually be part of the next Lakers core.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
