LeBron James out against Minnesota

There has been speculation of late that the Lakers might be willing to bite the bullet and be open to trading James, but that’s going to be his call ultimately. A league exec believes that is becoming increasingly realistic. “Now that LeBron has had his chance to play with Bronny and have that be a part of his legacy, he has to assess this team,” he told Heavy. “I think he’s finding that team wanting, which makes a lot of people around the league think he might finally be open to a trade to play somewhere else that’s championship level. “The question is, how can you make that trade? There’s only a few teams where his delivery brings them from the second plateau to the top, but it’s hard, if not impossible, for teams like that to take his contract.” -via Heavy.com / December 12, 2024

The Lakers are 13-11. They were 14-10 after 24 games under Ham last season, 10-14 the year before and 12-12 under Frank Vogel in 2021-22. With the exception of popping bubbly in the 2020 Bubble and a trip to the 2023 West finals, where they were summarily swept by Denver, this cornerstone franchise has been mediocre and less. The bench boss matters little. “Until LeBron leaves, it’s not going to be a good job, you know?” the source continued. “You’re going to be held to a standard that isn’t realistic. LeBron’s almost 40, man, c’mon. He can still do great things because he’s freakin’ LeBron. But in terms of getting that team to be good consistently for a period of years — a contender — it’s not going to happen with how it’s set up now. They took their shot these last couple of years, and it didn’t work. They have to be honest. Two stars weren’t enough with what they had around them. It wasn’t a coaching thing. It almost never is.” -via Heavy.com / December 12, 2024

Some usual top-tier suspects are being mentioned, but salary cap and apron restrictions make most of them non-starters. Our source did have an interesting thought, however. “The one place that I don’t hear a lot of talk about with LeBron is Sacramento,” he said. “He could change them, and they might have the kind assets to make a trade work. They have a lot of young talent, and because they’re a small market, they haven’t spent like drunken sailors. They have some draft picks a young talent. If they could get to the salary, LeBron would take (De’Aron) Fox and (Domantas) Sabonis and elevate the hell out of them — particularly Fox. With that threesome, those guys could be a force.” -via Heavy.com / December 12, 2024