NBA Exec Believes Lakers Could Trade LeBron James Before Upcoming Season

The Los Angeles Lakers are clearly moving towards being Luka Doncic's team. They traded for him this past season in order to be the face of the franchise moving forward.

LeBron James is still the face of the team right now, but the Lakers are operating more on Doncic's timeline. They have been including him in roster decisions, asking what kind of players he would like to play with.

This, in addition to the statement that Rich Paul put out, has fueled speculation that James might want to be traded. Anonymous executives think the same thing.

Los Angeles wants to keep him as long as possible, but rival executives think that James could ask out. Keith Smith of Spotrac talked with executives, and they think there's a shot that James is moved.

“Do I think the star guys like Giannis (Antetokounmpo) or LeBron (James) are going to go anywhere? Nope. Is it possible? Sure is. That’s why I can’t go to the beach and shut my phone off. You never know when a call could come. And imagine telling your owner that you missed out on a trading for one of those guys because you were asleep on the beach? I’d lose my job!” a Western Conference GM said.

This general manager thinks that it's certainly possible that James could get moved this offseason. The Lakers would only move James if they absolutely were forced to.

The Lakers would like to keep him for the rest of his career, which still might only last a couple of years. They believe that they can contend for a championship with both on the roster.

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Doncic would also like to keep James as long as possible, too, because he knows how good James still is at his age. James made the All-NBA team this past season.

If the Lakers were to move James, they would ask for a massive haul in return for him. There would be no bidding war for James, either. He would be dictating where he wants to go.

This past season with the Lakers, James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.

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