Proposed LeBron James Trade Gives Lakers a Rival 5-Time All-Star

The Los Angeles Lakers signed the king of basketball on the very first day of his free agency. Well, a proposed LeBron James trade could send the superstar to the Los Angeles Clippers. Imagine that! Bill Simmons from The Ringer worked on the scenario that sends LeBron to the city rivals. King James moved his office to Los Angeles and his kids go to school there. Moving from LA may not be an option right now and yes, LeBron loves the city.

The Lakers had a disappointing season and this may ease the potential trade.

“I think it’s interesting you thought it would be a Paul George trade, because I think you could talk me into like either guy [Leonard or George],” Simmons said during an April 15, 2022 episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast. “…If I’m the Clippers, I wouldn’t trade Paul George for LeBron, as crazy as that sounds. LeBron’s going to be in his 20th year next year. He’s on the last year of his deal. I have no idea if he’s going to stay. Versus Paul George I have under contract, and he’s really good. And then you have Kawhi, who has just missed a ton of games. I think if you’re them, maybe that’s a chance to reduce the risk of the Kawhi contract and roll the dice with LeBron.”

Proposed LeBron James trade makes sense for everyone

The Clippers may explore this trade because they have been without their superstar for most of the time. Leonard led his former team to the championship win, but he didn’t deliver the same performance in LA. His injuries kept him at the sideline for too long.

LeBron has yet to make a decision on his future. He can either leave the team or sign a contract extension. Jeanie Buss has to play smart otherwise she will lose a lot of money. In other words, trading LeBron is better than losing him to other teams without any compensation.

“Well, the conversation hasn’t been talked about technically because of the collective bargaining agreement,” LeBron said during his exit interview. “[A contract extension] cannot even be discussed until later on in the year, so. I know it’s out there but we can’t even- myself and Rich [Paul]- can’t even begin to talk with Rob [Pelinka] or the front office at all because of the collective bargaining agreement. So, when we get to that point we’ll see.”