With each game that passes, it gets tougher and tougher to ignore. The Los Angeles Lakers are not winning an NBA Championship this season, not without major changes. As one of the oldest players in the NBA, LeBron James is no longer at a stage where he can put an entire organization on his back and carry them to the throne.
Whether we want to argue about the general roster construction of the Lakers, question whether Frank Vogel is the right head coach for the team, or if the talents of King James are simply rapidly declining, the Lakers are not a true contender.
This isn’t even a hot take. The Lakers are sitting at .500 and are showing zero signs of becoming an elite team. There’s a small case to be made that they haven’t had a full squad yet, they’ve battled several injuries, players out due to health and safety protocols, but that’s the reality of the NBA in 2021. Everyone is leaping over the same hurdles, but the Lakers keep tripping over their own feet.
Russell Westbrook is still a good player, but he’s not a great one. Certainly not worthy of the top-earning salary on the Lakers, which is past $44 million per year. Pair him with LeBron making just north $41 million and Anthony Davis’ $35 million and it’s easy to see why the team is struggling.
They have few other contributors who can help elevate the team when one of its aging vets are having an off-day. Now that AD will be out for roughly four weeks after suffering a knee sprain from some LBJ friendly fire, it’s not hard to envision a scenario where the Lakers continue stumbling down the standings without one of their best players.
Could LeBron James request a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers?
Watching King James lately, he appears frustrated, which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. This is an ultra-competitive performer who isn’t familiar with losing 50% of his basketball games. The last time he’s been on a struggling team was his first season in LA, when they went 28-27 in the 55 games he was available.
Setting aside his first two seasons in the NBA in which he went 33-46 as a rookie and 41-39 in his second year, LBJ has never even come close to a .500 season other than these two with the Lakers.
It has to be difficult when he looks at the standings, and sees his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers at 19-12, in third place of the Eastern Conference. And we know James is very aware of the irony since he’s just as big of a fan as anyone in or out of the NBA.
The Cavaliers are a team steadily on the rise, but they don’t have that alpha who can lead them to titleland this season. That’s where the extremely experienced LeBron James comes in.
Former NBA Champion also raises idea of LeBron James demanding trade
The idea of LeBron James having a desire to head back home is picking up some steam. Although it’s not anything official, Kendrick Perkins mentioned the idea on his Twitter late Tuesday night after seeing the Lakers lose by 18 to the Phoenix Suns. It may be the first hint of smoke that could lead to an eventual fire of magnanimous proportions.
The Lakers moving on from LeBron, or really, LeBron moving on from them, would be a bad look for the franchise, but it’s not an idea that should be shot down.
LeBron James left door open for an eventual return to Cleveland
Even when LeBron James went to the Los Angeles Lakers four years ago, he refused to close the door on a possible return to the organization that selected him No. 1 overall in 2003. If the Lakers continue struggling and the Cavaliers maintain their pace, once the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline nears, don’t be shocked if LeBron James heads back to Cleveland.
