LeBron James and Lakers to land EXPLOSIVE young superstar? Team insider suggests franchise eyeing on two-time All-Star guard

The Athletic's recent report revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James are in pursuit of star guard Trae Young.

LeBron James and Lakers to land EXPLOSIVE young superstar? Team insider suggests franchise eyeing on two-time All-Star guard

James Lebron and Lakers are pursuing to recruit Trae Young

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered significantly when they had a ball-dominant guard on the team like Russell Westbrook. Russ wasn’t very effective without the ball and couldn’t mesh well with LeBron James due to their overlapping playstyles. This resulted in a disastrous 2021-22 season for the Lakers.

They are now in the market to add another point guard alongside D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent for the upcoming season. According to a report by Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers have shown interest in Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks. Trae averaged 26.2 points and 10.2 assists per game last season.

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He had the second-best average assists per game and led the league in total assists with 741. The Lakers lack a playmaker who can relieve the load on LeBron James. Due to his increasing age, he will not be able to play the same number of minutes and games to prepare for the playoffs.

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In the same report, Buha also mentioned that LeBron and the Lakers heavily pursued Kyrie Irving during the off-season, but all their efforts were in vain. Consequently, they turned their attention to Trae Young and are closely monitoring his situation in Atlanta.

It appears that the Hawks might struggle to replicate their 2021 success when they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite trading for Dejounte Murray after the surprising run, their performance declined, resulting in a first-round elimination by the Boston Celtics.

Also Read: Jayson Tatum recruitment attempt of 7-time All-Star failed MISERABLY, as coveted superstar eyes another Eastern Conference giant

Acquiring Trae Young would pose a considerable challenge for the Lakers

Trae Young and Lebron James
Trae Young and Lebron James

Trae Young was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks with the fifth pick in the 2018 draft, where the Hawks famously traded the rights to draft Luka Doncic with the third overall pick in order to draft Trae and acquire a future first-round pick. The trade has gone well so far for both parties, as they have both made Conference Final appearances with their lead guards.

In 2021, Trae Young signed a five-year, $207 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks after earning a spot on the All-NBA third team. He is currently in the second year of his max deal with the Hawks, which will pay him $40 million next year. If the Hawks were to make Trae available for trade, the asking price would be astronomically high, considering he has three years left on his contract.

Similar contracts, such as those of Rudy Gobert and Kevin Durant, have commanded asking prices of 4 to 5 first-round picks. Notably, the Lakers only possess their 2029 first-round pick and lack the cap space to absorb Trae’s contract. It will be interesting to observe the Lakers’ trade moves for the upcoming season.

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