There once was a time where NBA teams would do whatever it took to get LeBron James to their city, but those days appear to be over with.
On Sunday the four-time MVP opted in to his $52.6 million player option with the Lakers amid swirling trade swirling trade and retirement rumors. However, one basketball insider warns that the market isn’t exactly high for King James unless its through free agency.
“There isn’t [a trade market] and here’s why,” Bobby Marks explained on “Get Up” this morning. “He’s making $53 million, he’s in his last year of his contract, he’s 40-years-old and I talked to numerous yesterday and asked them ‘would you give up the farm to go get LeBron James for one year?’ And the unanimous answer was ‘no’ they wouldn’t.”
“Now the stakes change a lot if LeBron James ever became a free agent,” he added. “But from a trade perspective … as one team told me: ‘That’s not smart business.'”
NBA teams don’t believe it’s ‘smart business’ to gut their roster for 40-year-old LeBron James in a potential trade, per @BobbyMarks42
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Even in his early 40s James is still one of the Association’s best. But in this current era of aprons and second aprons, giving up five to six players for a likely one-year rental is just too big of an ask in the eyes of league decision-makers.
In a statement on James’ decision to exercise his option over the weekend, agent Rich Paul said the four-time NBA champ wants another run at a ring and will be closely monitoring the Lakers’ moves to ensure that.
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul said, via ESPN.com. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
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“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
There’s been some buzz around a potential LeBron trade to the Mavs or even a possible return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But there’s still a lot to sort out for the King before something like that happens.