UNIT 2 FINAL DRAFT

Will LeBron Leave The Lakers?

LeBron James and The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled throughout this season and underperformed significantly due to Russell Westbrook struggling to fit alongside Anthony Davis & LeBron James. Due to these struggles the Media have been open to speculations of LeBron returning to Cleveland or at least leaving LA. He mentioned a few times that he would join his son so we know he’s definitely looking towards his future in the NBA and what is best for his Legacy that is being written. LeBron has always been the type to troll the media as when he was in Cleveland he unfollowed them on Instagram knowing it would stir up a fire in the media and when they asked him about it, he acted as if they made it up. Of course that same season he would end up leaving and joining the Lakers. He does these little things on purpose in my opinion so he can give us an expectation of what he may do so when it does happen we aren’t flabbergasted the way we were when he announced his decision to join the Miami Heat in 2011.

According to an article published by Matt Johnson of SportsNaut, he states “LeBron shared before the All-Star Game that he is open to rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers”. Quoting LeBron “The doors’ not closed on that. I’m not saying I’m coming back and playing, I don’t know. I don’t know what my future holds. I don’t even know when I’m free”. LeBron is set to become a free agent in 2022-2023, it is highly likely due to the Lakers recent struggles this season and if they don’t pick up the pace next season, LeBron may leave the Lakers. My source to further this argument is published by Lorenzo Reyes from USA Today, he quotes LeBron during the all star game once again ““My last year will be played with my son,” James told The Athletic on Feb. 19. “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year.” Now to me this is news, not only do we have comments about LeBron open to rejoining Cleveland, he now states he is going to play wherever his son is during his last year in the NBA, surely confirming the lakers will lose LeBron is the future since they have no draft picks after trading for Anthony Davis. He also later debunks the statement made about Cleveland saying “I never said I’d see myself playing in a Cavaliers uniform”, but instead that he’d pick up a one day contract to retire there. Personally, I think LeBron is teasing that he will test free agency when his contract is up so teams will have him on their radars for the future, although I disagree when it comes to him joining Cleveland because I don’t think they’d have enough money to pay him for the amount of work he’ll have to do since Cleveland lacks starpower. 

After doing some research, LeBron’s NBA contract with LA is a 2 year deal after he signed an extension in 2020 to remain with the Lakers until the 2023 off-season. This means something because I highly doubt the Lakers are going to trade LeBron, yes the Lakers are struggling, but this is LeBron James were talking about, which teams you you honestly believe is going to trade equally for a 37 year old LeBron, the Bucks aren’t giving up Giannis, Clippers aren’t trading Kawhi or PG, there aren’t any teams I see that can come up with a fair trade for LeBron and would benefit both sides, but that’s just my opinion. 

Moving on, the biggest reason to me that LeBron would be leaving the Lakers is because of an on-going topic in the NBA for a long time… the goat debate. Now you might be wondering what the goat is, it stands for Greatest Of All Time. So far about 75% of NBA fans believe the Greatest is Michael Jordan, about 20% believe it’s LeBron, and the last 5% is just a few other players like Kobe and Wilt. Anyways, LeBron has admitted to “chasing the ghost in Chicago” referring to, of course… Michael Jordan, pretty much hinting at the fact that he’s trying to become the greatest player ever. Another piece of Evidence I have is his interview when he won the 2016 NBA Championship with Cleveland, coming back from 3-1 he said “I think that one right there made me the greatest of all time”. Now me and my brother like to have this debate all the time, although sometimes I’m biased towards LeBron because I never really watched basketball when Jordan was playing so, LeBron is to me what Jordan is to older NBA fans. We debate both sides whether we think LeBron has a case or not but I’ve come to the conclusion that Michael Jordan is the GOAT. Just comparing careers Michael did so much more in such a short time that it’s hard for LeBron to compete with that but LeBron’s longevity and consistency to play so great for so long has to be accounted for as well. This is why I say Jordan is the GOAT, but LeBron is still on his way, could he surpass MJ, you really never know. 

Those facts now bring me back to my original point, LeBron might leave LA to further his name in the GOAT talk. Almost every week on ESPN they talk about if LeBron has a chance… I mean if you’re still talking about it I’m sure that means something. It always comes down to, Jordan has 6 Rings, LeBron has 4, and Jordan Is 6-0 in the Finals and LeBron is 4-6. How can LeBron really further his Legacy? He’s 37 and leading the NBA in scoring but the Lakers might miss out on a chance to compete in the playoffs this year. In my opinion he has a few options, first he can choose to ride it out and continue to play with Anthony Davis and Russel Westbrook which is unlikely because Russ said he wants out next season, or second he can leave LA and put himself in a better position to compete before it’s too late. 

Now the first choice is unlikely because I don’t see them riding it out after this season’s disappointment and with LeBron’s age rising every year, I think he’s in a “win now” mentality. The second option now that I’ve given you so much insight and evidence, is much more believable because we’ve heard him on occasion talking about leaving, also LeBron loves to toy with the media and cause headlines. Not only that but just adding the fact that this season didn’t work out, Anthony Davis’s injury issues, and Westbrook’s decline and public statement that he wants to leave in the offseason shows not only does Wetbrook not believe in their team anymore but that looks bad towards a guy like LeBron who’s trying to further his Legacy before it’s time to retire. After doing different types of research, reading articles, watching interviews, and looking at statistics, I believe LeBron leaving LA is best for his future and I think that there is a very high chance at it happening in the 2023 offseason.