“The Los Angeles Lakers are going nowhere! They should trade LeBron James!”: Stephen A Smith believes the 17x Champions should trade the King for future assets

ESPN analyst Stephen A Smith breaks down how trading LeBron James is what would be best for the Los Angeles Lakers

At the start of the 2021-22 season, Los Angeles Lakers were Top 2 on most people’s ballots to win the NBA Championship. Come playoff time, the Lakers didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament. What happened one may ask?

The Lakers, even though they acquired some great pieces, could never get those pieces in as a team. LeBron James, in his 19th season, put up 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists. If the Lakers were winning, he would’ve probably won his 5th MVP honors. However, that didn’t happen.

Instead, Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis failed to support the aging King. While Russ was available for the games, he couldn’t get used to giving up the ball as much as he had to. On the other hand, Anthony Davis missed a big chunk of the season due to various injuries.

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The Lakers have a lot of decisions to make in the offseason, including picking a new Head Coach. Stephen A Smith made a wild suggestion, which if one thinks of it, makes sense.

Stephen A Smith believes LeBron James is the only asset on the Lakers who can get them returns

An aging Russell Westbrook who seems low on athleticism or an injury-prone Anthony Davis. Which one of these assets could generate the same amount of return a 37-year-old LeBron James can? The answer is neither.

Stephen A Smith knows the same, and he tried to talk about the same on First Take today.

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With there being at least 7 teams, Suns, Warriors, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Clippers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans(if Zion Williamson actually shows up) that can compete for the ultimate prize, it makes sense for the Lakers to start planning for the future. Trading LeBron James to one of these teams might get them good assets for the future, and let LeBron compete for ring #5 as well.

I don’t say it often, but SAS does make a valid point here.