NBA rumors of a LeBron James change of scenery emerge

LeBron James has been on the Los Angeles Lakers for seven seasons now. They won a championship in the bubble, but the Lakers are no longer title contenders. This is the biggest reason why the now 39-year-old future Hall of Famer is frequently mentioned in trade rumors, even if he’s never indicated a desire to leave the Lakers. Now that his son Bronny James shares the same team as him, a LeBron trade is even more unlikely.

However, that hasn’t stopped the LeBron rumors from popping up every year. Now, it’s time for another batch.

Lebron James trade rumors emerge but NBA insider shoots them down

The Los Angeles Lakers are 12-11 entering NBA games today. LeBron James is under contract for $48.7 million this season, which makes a trade difficult to pull off. Yet, if the Lakers’ season spirals out of control, trading the 20-time All-Star could make some sense, especially since he has a $52.6M player option for 2025-26.

Yet, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst indicated, there have been LeBron “trade conversations” around the NBA.

“I’m very interested in all of this…I’d be lying if I said that there (hasn’t) been some conversations in the league with LeBron at some point this year, like…revisit that. Because you remember at the trade deadline last year, the Warriors called.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on LeBron James

Brian Windhorst pours some cold water on the idea, detailing how tough that trade would be. pic.twitter.com/YM1CgG0hM3
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 7, 2024

Trading in Los Angeles for Golden State would at least allow James to stay in California, but like the Lakers, it depends on how the Warriors perform. Right now, Golden State is 13-9 on the season, landing in fifth place of the Western Conference.

It’s hard to imagine James getting traded anywhere, especially outside of Los Angeles. No matter what, the only place James would be traded to is a team with a legitimate chance of winning an NBA championship.