LeBron James should be on the trading block according to ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy, a former NBA head coach for the Knicks and the Rockets, the Lakers need to explore the idea of trading James and the rest of the Lakers for the franchise to be rebuilt.
The Los Angeles Lakers started the season with high hopes. The addition of four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, not to mention a plethora of talented veterans, to the Lakers' young core, should have made the Lakers a lock to make the postseason. In fact, most NBA experts suggest that the Lakers would finish the regular season, at worst as the sixth seed, and as the fourth seed at best in the Western Conference. Now, they are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
The Lakers currently have a 30-36 win-loss record and sitting at the 11th spot in the ultra-tough Western Conference. LeBron and company are 7 games out of the playoffs and with their post-season aspirations slipping away, the Lakers seemingly have thrown in the towel. The Lakers are planning to limit James' minutes and decided to rest some of its key players for the rest of the season.
Did Jeff Van Gundy just suggest that the Lakers trade Lebron James to the Clippers in the off-season? LMAO @WorldWideWob pic.twitter.com/Q6nOfgkJ4v — Champ (@ChampChong) March 10, 2019
While some NBA followers agree with the Lakers' move to rest their stars, a number of NBA experts and fans alike, Jeff Van Gundy included, think that it's time for the Lakers to give up on the LeBron James experiment. During ESPN's broadcast of the Lakers game against the Boston Celtics, Van Gundy suggested that the Lakers need to trade James to the Clippers to free up cap space.
According to Van Gundy, the Lakers would have the capability to go after Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and/or Kawhi Leonard if the team decide to part ways with LeBron James. Van Gundy is of the opinion that the Lakers need to rebuild its roster by trading for another NBA superstar like Anthony Davis. But what caught the attention of many NBA fans was Van Gundy's comment about trading LeBron James. "I think they need to explore trading LeBron for getting as much as they can," Van Gundy said during the live broadcast.
Mark Jackson, Van Gundy's fellow analyst on ESPN, questioned Van Gundy's idea, and Jackson was firm in his opinion that LeBron James is not going to be traded. Van Gundy countered with the idea that everyone on the Lakers' roster should be on the table, James included, if the Lakers want to rebuild.
LeBron James is a known quantity, and only a handful of NBA players can rival his accomplishments. Jeff Van Gundy has one of the finest basketball minds and the fact that he thought of trading LeBron and the rest of the Lakers just highlights the Lakers' season struggles. After all, if the Lakers are winning, no one would have given this a single thought.
