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With their current standing this NBA season, the LA Lakers are at risk of not making the playoffs again despite LeBron James impressive performance.
There's a chance that LeBron James wants out of the Los Angeles Lakers, as per an insider report. After signing a contract extension with the Lakers in the offseason, LeBron now has two more years left on his deal.
This year he will earn nearly $44.5 million, and the deal will begin with the 2023-24 season. The 18-time All-Star will earn $46.9 million for his skills next year as a result of the contract extension. LeBron has a player option in his deal that allows him to play beyond the 2024-25 season if he so decides, per Sportskeeda.
Lakers Not Eager to Trade Draft Picks
Except for trade, LeBron James will play his whole career in Los Angeles. Ethan Skolnick, though, thinks the superstar forward is trying to get traded. Skolnick speculated that LeBron James might be trying to be traded behind the scenes, even though it is impossible to do so before the trade deadline.
"He should be finishing his career in a place like Cleveland or Miami...and try to finish up and win there," Skolnick said. With the extension he signed, James is no longer bound by a no-trade provision. The Lakers may not trade him due to his 15% trade kicker.
Meanwhile, sports journalist Howard Beck remarked in his podcast recently that the Lakers are not eager to trade its future draft picks. Beck said that he heard "rumblings" from a "couple of individuals around the league" that they believe the Lakers' front office was advised, "not to trade the picks".
Although it is obvious that LeBron James and Anthony Davis have the zeal to lead the squad to another title, they will undoubtedly have difficulty doing it with the present roster, per Basketball Forever.
Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers expect that the team would use its two draft picks to acquire some much-needed talent and depth. It would be an understatement to suggest that LeBron is single-handedly responsible for the team's current 17-21 record and 12th place in the Western Conference.
LeBron James has been on a tear lately, averaging 34.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 58.2 FG% over his last 10 games.
However, time is not on the side of the 38-year-old superstar as he tries to win at least one more title after already capturing three. With his present teammates by his side and AD on the bench, the Lakers look set to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Bradley Beal Trade: A Possible Option
Marc Stein, a reporter for the NBA's official website, reported in his Substack newsletter that the Lakers' rivals believe they are saving their first-round picks in 2027 and 2029 for a specific reason: a "shot to trade for a legitimate third star--like Washington's Bradley Beal--materializes suddenly."
There is no certainty that someone like Bradley Beal will become available before the trade deadline on February 9, although it would be a sound decision for the Wizards to let him go.
Washington awarded Beal this offseason with a hefty five-year, $251 million deal that includes a full no-trade provision, as per a report from Fan Nation. Keeping their local hero in the District of Columbia indefinitely is a no-brainer. But the Wizards haven't had much success since they decided to utilize Bradley Beal as their main scorer. And things hasn't changed much for the team (currently at 11th place in the Eastern Conference) thus far this season.
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