Los Angeles Lakers superstar power forward LeBron James, well on his way to a record-tying 19th All-Star appearance this season, has made no secret of the fact that he is frustrated with his team’s roster construction.
Sean Deveney of Heavy.com writes that several league executives are contemplating trade packages to pitch to LA, just in case James continues to be frustrated with his club in the summer, to the point where he might demand a trade.
Deveney thinks one destination that could make sense for both sides is the Brooklyn Nets, a star club fronted by All-NBA forward Kevin Durant and LBJ’s former Cleveland Cavaliers sidekick, antisemitic jerk Kyrie Irving.
“LeBron would have to be interested in playing with Kevin Durant,” one Western Conference rival executive told Deveney. “Both of those guys, at this point of their careers, they have been such great competitors and both of them want to finish out their time in the NBA strong, want to change the narrative a little bit on the way the last few years have gone. They have never been very close as friends but they have a lot of respect for each other. But, do you trade Kyrie? Probably, if they wanted to do a trade, they’d move Ben Simmons to LA, but Simmons is a clutch [Sports] guy so you’d have to see how that plays out.”
Deveney pitches a deal centered around the $35.4 million contract of All-Defensive Team Nets point forward Ben Simmons plus two intriguing young prospects still on their rookie scale deals, Day’Ron Sharpe and Cam Thomas.
Although his defense has returned to its previous Philadelphia 76ers-era levels, Simmons has been worse than ever on offense. He’s been an eyesore as a scorer his entire career, but this season he’s averaging just 7.5 points a game. While he’s shooting a decent 57.1% from the field, he’s connecting on just 43.1% of his free throws. He’s also chipping in 6.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.5 steals a night.
Irving is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and while his on-court play seems likely to earn him his eighth All-Star nod, his questionable and erratic behavior off the hardwood seems destined to cool his market value in free agency. Provided everyone is healthy-ish, a Big Three of Durant, James, and Irving would prove formidable next year.
From a Lakers perspective, a return of Simmons, Sharpe and Thomas could be interesting, but the team would still need to improve the club’s scoring in the absence of James.
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