Lakers Rumors: Is LA still relevant when it comes to landing LBJ?
By Keith Rivas
The latest Lakers rumors have had LeBron James wearing purple and gold next season thought of as highly possible, but is it really?
It’s safe to say that Magic Johnson is keeping his options open for what the roster will actually end up looking like next season, but his eyes are absolutely on landing a superstar — and two if possible, since the’yve got the money now.
LeBron James is likely going to spread his wings and send his talents to somewhere not named Miami or Cleveland, with this being the second time in his career he’d be leaving Cleveland if that were the case. The Los Angeles Lakers are still an option for James, but the best player in the league isn’t stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If he decides he doesn’t want to finish his career in Cleveland or Los Angeles, other major options that have come up are the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Philadelphia 76ers. Each of these opportunies has something unique to offer LeBron James, and it might just be enought to snatch him out of the hands of the Lakers.
Knowing Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka based on their previous behavior, though, they’re not going to just go down without a fight. They knew excactly what they were doing when they traded Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. — to Cleveland, of all places — in order to set enough money aside for two max deals.
Los Angeles may be an attractive offer, but those other teams and locations aren’t so awful either. With that in mind, here’s how LeBron’s other options compare to the Lakers and why that matters.