Los Angeles Lakers: Trading for LeBron James is the best move to make

The Los Angeles Lakers have been connected to LeBron James heavily over the last year. While many assumed he would come as a free agent, trading for James is the best possible scenario for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers are seemingly out to get as much star power as possible to turn into the latest NBA juggernaut. Among others, LeBron James has been connected to the Lakers are a candidate to sign this summer.

James would be a key part of a master plan to bring in at least two stars to dethrone the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. For some, including Shaquille O’Neal, the superstar partnership of James and Paul George makes the most sense.

George is perhaps the only player with heavier ties to the Los Angeles Lakers. With $61 million in cap space, LA can afford to sign both max superstars for a very minuscule pay cut. That easily can be made up in endorsements.

However, this dream scenario puts Brandon Ingram in a weird position. Ingram is a young, promising small forward with all-star potential. Bringing two forwards in would obviously cut Ingram’s playing time, thus hurting his progression.

That is unless the Los Angeles Lakers plan to use Ingram to lure LeBron to LA in the first place.

The report that no Laker is untouchable is what sparks this conversation. NBA veteran Caron Butler interprets this news as a potential recruiting piece to bring in James via trade.

As crazy as this sounds, it actually makes a lot of sense for the Los Angeles Lakers to trade for LeBron James.

First and foremost, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be desperate to get this deal done. James has a player option, so he can walk away for nothing. That is why the Cavaliers have been making moves to prepare for a post-LeBron future.

However, if James came to the front office and told them he wanted to be a Laker, and that he would opt into his deal if the two sides agreed to a sign and trade, the front office would obviously bite.

Obviously, the Cavaliers would be in a rebuilding state, so adding young talent is a priority. Not only that, the team would be able to afford to take in large contracts as a fee for that young talent. The Lakers would need to match LeBron’s salary, anyway.

And that is what makes this deal so effective for the Lakers. In return for James, the Lakers would assemble a package around Luol Deng and Brandon Ingram. According to ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine, the Lakers would still need to add just over $5 million in contracts to make the trade work.

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That is where it gets tricky. To combat this, the Lakers can agree to a sign and trade deal of their own with a free agent on the understanding they will be traded to the Cavaliers. That is going to be the biggest hurdle of this entire process, but it is not impossible.

The Lakers would probably have to add two unprotected first round picks in the deal as well. And while this may seem like too much to give, the Lakers would not be a lottery team with James. Los Angeles has all the young talent it needs. Adding late first-round picks is not going to do a whole lot to the team.

In matching the salaries, the Lakers would be able to keep the $60 million or so intact to sign Paul George to a max deal, extend Julius Randle (or bring in a different star center) as well as add at least two more depth pieces.

Trading is the only way to really bring in two max stars without sacrificing depth and the rest of the team. Deng is the obvious crutch here, this trade solves that problem.

Next: Possible trades for each young Lakers star

It may be a crazy idea but both sides obviously benefit from a LeBron James trade. Most importantly, for the Los Angeles Lakers, it means turning into true NBA Championship contenders.

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