Los Angeles Lakers: Wanting LeBron James out of LA is laughable

Despite welcoming him with mostly open arms when he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers last year, some Laker fans want to see LeBron James leave LA.

This obviously does not apply to every Laker fan and if you do not hold this notion then you can disregard this post and continue about your day. However, there is an actual portion of fans that want to see LeBron James leave the Los Angeles Lakers.

The reasons are cloudy, at best. This is mostly due to the fact that the Lakers massively fell short of expectations in his first season and the fact that the team has been a circus since his arrival a year ago.

However, to be fair, much of that has nothing at all to do with LeBron and has everything to do with the dysfunctional front office. But hey, narrative, right?

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There was also the uneasiness of some fans in welcoming James as a true Laker. For some reason or another, a lot of the same fans that are diehard Kobe Bryant fans are LeBron James naysayers.

Perhaps it is because the media painted James as a true challenger to Michael Jordan‘s legacy, completing skimming over Kobe. And while some of those Kobe diehards were able to open their minds for James, it is undeniable that most of the Laker fanbase hated James before he became a Laker.

And now the same guy that was supposed to right the ship of the franchise is already being hung out to dry. There is a legitimate conversation of if the Lakers should try to trade James and the fourth overall pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Anthony Davis.

Even if it is not that, there are the reports around Jeannie Buss reportedly being told to trade James; reports that often make a mountain out of a molehill and have very little merit behind them.

Heck, The New York Times even ran a piece stating to “Free LeBron from Laker Land”.

Trading LeBron James is so outlandishly nearsighted that it has to be something that is fueled too heavily by emotions. And while the front office will never do it, those fans that are calling for this reality need to look in the mirror.

The idea that the young core will get better without James is optimistic but doubtful. It is not like the young core necessarily lit up the world while LeBron was out this year.

Would they put up more numbers statistically? Absolutely. But the overall net loss of losing James would only cause more harm than good. The Los Angeles Lakers wouldn’t even be able to sniff the Conference Finals without LeBron James.

You have to have superstars in this league. Some are homegrown, others are brought in externally. It is not like the Lakers have drafted poorly, either, as the selections the team made were the best to make at that given time, they simply lost out because of a thin draft class.

This young core is not going to grow into a championship-caliber team, which prompts the need for external help. Teams constructed this way definitely can win an NBA Championship. The only thing that is clouding this idea is the rare fact that the Golden State Warriors were all homegrown before Kevin Durant joined.

To trade away the biggest star in the league and someone that is still a top-five player, at worst, has no positive implications. Yes, he is getting older and yes, he is not as good as he was five years ago.

However, if you look at what he is doing on a nightly basis, he is still contributing more than just about anyone in the league.

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Superstars drive the NBA and outside of LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers have no current, or future, superstars on the roster. Trading away the one you have is the worst thing to do.

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