Lack of LeBron James Trade Interest Among NBA GMs Spawns More Memes About 40-Year-Old

LeBron James seemed to issue a trade request via Rich Paul yesterday, but NBA front offices are treading lightly with him.

Lack of LeBron James Trade Interest Among NBA GMs Spawns More Memes About 40-Year-Old

LeBron James, Jay-Z (Image via IG)

It’s no secret that LeBron James’ legendary NBA career is now on the wind down. Since the 2020-21 NBA season, when he suffered an ankle injury in March 2021, James hasn’t looked close to his peak. He is still a force to be reckoned with, as he’s proven time and time again. But there’s no race that Father Time hasn’t won, no man that he hasn’t tolled the bell for.

James’ end, though graceful, is still knocking on the door. The 40-year-old bagged an All-NBA Second Team selection last year after a barnstorming regular season campaign. He also finished the first round series averaging 25.4 points, 9 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.

But the Lakers ended up with yet another playoff exit having only won a single game in the first round. Luka Doncic averaged over 30 points and 7 rebounds per game, but the Lakers’ defense didn’t hold up. Time after time, in three straight fourth quarters, the Lakers’ offense also fell apart.

The team’s defense was also suspect in these games, as the short rotations run by JJ Redick caused the players to run out of steam. LeBron James went 25 straight fourth-quarter minutes in these games without scoring a point. This laid undue pressure on Doncic and Austin Reaves, even as Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith pulled their weight.

James caused consternation after Rich Paul made a statement demanding the Lakers’ front office to add more roster pieces. Although the statement was veiled, it was received as a trade demand by many fans. But the latest rumors and reports on the situation suggest that despite another good individual season last year, James is no longer a hot property on the trade market. This is hardly shocking at his current age.

NBA fans piled on James for the reduced interest after he opted into his $53 million player option.

How can the Lakers improve around LeBron James and Luka Doncic?

As things stand, the Lakers have Doncic, Reaves, James, Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht as viable rotation players. None of these players is a true two-way threat at this point, other than James in short spurts. This points to a soft interior for the Lakers, who were dominated in the paint by the Wolves in last year’s playoffs.

Ultimately, the Lakers find themselves in a tough spot. They can hope to sign a center like Deandre Ayton, Walker Kessler or Clint Capela. Adding a defense-focused center with a paint presence will allow James and Doncic the breathing room they would need to be heliocentric offensive pieces. But the team will need to re-sign Finney-Smith and add a point of attack defender to become truly impervious on that end.

Lakers looking to build championship team around LeBron James and Luka Doncic
Lakers looking to build championship team around LeBron James and Luka Doncic (Image via Blockbet/X)

The overarching sentiment around the team is that it will need more solidity at all positions. While LeBron James and Luka Doncic are transcendent offensive players, NBA championships aren’t built on finesse. Winning titles requires teams to get down and dirty and have a mean streak to them, especially on defense. Neither James nor Doncic inspire that kind of play from their colleagues, based on recent evidence.

The Lakers attempted to add some rotation help by investing in three second round draft picks this year. The 2025 NBA Draft has long been heralded as a loaded draft class and has a lot of talent at all positions. It has allowed teams to take more chances on the draft than from the three previous draft classes. But all of these picks, much like Dalton Knecht last year, are more about complementary pieces than real help.

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