Breaking up the Lakers.
The… Lakers?
The Lakers, the team that Rob Pelinka put together badly (I wrote a version of this), LeBron James couldn’t wear (idem) and Anthony Davis couldn’t stay healthy enough to sustain (good…). The team that reacted to last season’s 33-win disaster by ousting the person (Frank Vogel) least responsible.
That’s right… the Lakers.
The Lakers — the Lakers without Davis — have won five straight after Saturday’s win at Sacramento. It was not easy. They had to face De’Aaron Fox, potential (should be?) Kings All-Star who shredded them for 34 points. They had to deal with Domantas Sabonis, the big man with a broken thumb who had 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. They had to survive what looked like (the NBA says otherwise) an extremely bad call from the referees in the final seconds of regulation, a whistle that turned a potential three-point play from Russell Westbrook into a free throw and opened the door for Fox to send the game to overtime.
They did it with Westbrook, which has sports betting sites have remarkably installed as prefer towin sixth man. With Thomas Bryant, one of the best contracts in the NBA. With Dennis Schröder, who’s on the kind of scoring frenzy that reminds you why the Lakers once considered committing $84 million to him.
And they did it with LeBron James.
James scored 37 points against Sacramento. The night before, against Atlanta, he had scored 25. A few nights before, it was 43. A few nights before that, on his birthday – James’ 38th – he scored 47. In December he had more than 30 games with more points (eight) than fewer (six).
Wow.
in the era of the ageless athlete, James does things we will do never meet again. Sure, Michael Jordan dropped 40 points in his 40-year season, but those two Wizards years were tougher for Jordan, whose Washington teams never had 37 wins. Nobody thought that MJ, between the knees, was capable of leading a team to the final. James looks a lot like he can.
The numbers are astonishing. James is averaging eight rebounds. He delivers seven assists. It fires 51% from the ground. StatMuse recently tweeted out a list of scoring numbers for players in their 20th season. Vince Carter averaged 5.4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on whom James is closing in on the NBA scoring record, scored 10.1. Kobe Bryant? 17.6. James exceeds 29.1 years.
Everyone is impressed. “Phenomenal” is how Lakers coach Darvin Ham called James’ recent run. “Masterful,” tweeted Kevin Durant. Paul Pierce, a longtime rival of James, called James the GOAT. On the Lakers post-game show, James Worthy described James as an “old uncle”, saying: “You know you’re younger than him, faster than him, but you just can’t not beat him.”
Now… will the Lakers help him?
LeBron James has made it clear that the Lakers need to take action before the trade deadline.
Cary Edmondson/USA TODAY Sports
Will-they-or-won’t-they make a trade has been a narrative throughout the season in Los Angeles. We all know the story. The Lakers have two first-round picks they can offer, in 2027 and 29. They have Westbrook’s $47 million contract expiring. They have a few living bodies in Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn. It is more or less that.
LeBron wants them to use it. All. Put all items, especially draft picks, in a UPS envelope and see what you can get. There is no supply here. It is him, at least indirectly. He didn’t so subtly call for more shooting in October when he said the Lakers “are not sitting here with a lot of lasers on our team.” Last month he went out of his way to answer a question about how long he wanted to play with “I don’t want to end my career playing at this level from a team perspective.” When pressed by Athleticism Saturday about Los Angeles’ approach to the trade deadline, Jacques said“You all know what should happen.”
Do you think that ended up in the Jeanie Buss timeline?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not an easy call. The end result of that five-game winning streak puts the Lakers half a game away from the last play-in spot. Davis seems to be closing in on a comeback, but any time “stress injury” and “foot” are in the same sentence, you have to worry. In a seller’s market where no superstars seem available, the Lakers could be forced to overpay for players who only make them marginally better.
But LeBron wants it. In a response to Athleticism story James tweeted, “my patience never fails” and “my job is the locker room.” Fine. But James isn’t interested in the Lakers’ long-term future, when he runs an entertainment company or owns an NBA team in Las Vegas. It’s an LA problem. Not that. Come to think of it, is that Pelinka? What is Pelinka more likely to do in 2027 if he does not have Trade picks, lead the Lakers or negotiate contracts with them?
It looks like an ownership decision. Again: Buss and the Lakers can make a perfectly reasonable case that giving up a first-round pick for Bogdan Bogdanović or Christian Wood is foolish and pushing all your chips for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield (a package that’s probably no longer available) does not make sense. The Lakers are going to exist after LeBron, so unless a trade brings back an All-Star (Bradley Beal), LA needs to consider its long-term future.
LeBron no. He plays at the All-NBA level. Davis, who was playing at MVP level before this latest injury, approaching a comeback, and there’s no way a contender like James would look at the Western Conference field and think Denver, Memphis and New Orleans are unbeatable. It doesn’t matter how the Lakers get into the playoffs. James must believe that with a healthy Davis and a little help, he can beat any team once there.
James has been clear about what he wants.
The Lakers have a month to decide if they want to give it to him.
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