The glory of having LeBron James on your team is that you have who many consider the greatest player of all time on your roster.
So you would think the Los Angeles Lakers are crazy to even consider trading the career 27-point-per-game scorer.
Well, it’s an easier pill to swallow when you have a 25-year-old superstar in Luka Dončić putting up Hall of Fame numbers at your point guard, one of the reasons Bleach Report’s Eric Pincus has James as the centerpiece to this massive three-team blockbuster trade.
“The initial assumption is Dallas views James, even at almost 41, as the viable option to propel the franchise into upper-echelon contention. The cost is depth,” Pincus said Friday. “The Lakers never had a young defensive center behind Davis and James like Lively. Irving and James won a title together in Cleveland with the Cavaliers. Dallas would be making a bold move, but James remains one of the league’s top NBA stars.”
The proposed trade deals with the Lakers, Mavericks, and Brooklyn Nets. Here are the full details.
Nets receive: Dalton Knecht, Maxi Kleber, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Dwight Powell.
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Lakers receive: Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, Naji Marshall, Caleb Martin, Jaden Hardy, two Lakers second-round picks and James’ $24.1 million trade exception.
Mavericks receive: LeBron James, Bronny James, Drew Timme, Tyrese Martin, a $1.8 million trade exception and a $1.1 million trade exception.
Dallas and Los Angeles have already teamed up to make one of the biggest trades in NBA history less than a year ago, so why not a second time around?
James immediately puts the Mavericks into contention and teams up with two of his favorite teammates ever, and the Lakers are able to prioritize the team around Dončić.
Seeing LeBron back together with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis would be ironic, but it would make for one powerful team.
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