On March 1, Beijing time, as the Los Angeles Lakers' hopes of winning the championship this season became more and more slim, and even the hope of entering the playoffs became smaller and smaller, the Lakers will have more or less negative emotions, and even the home star LeBron James has some negative games. In such a situation, the topic of whether James should leave the Lakers and whether the Lakers should trade James began to heat up.
Today, ESPN host Monica McNutt commented on James's relationship with the Lakers on a TV show. Asked if James should consider making a trade to leave the Lakers at the end of the season, McNutt said: "I think LeBron should explore options for leaving. If anyone in the league has that prestige, can express ideas and leave, that person is LeBron James. I think that throughout his career history, he has never been shy about wanting to be in the best position to pursue his personal and professional goals. I understand that this time it's in Los Angeles, and there's a lot of the things he does off the field. ”
It is worth mentioning that in the previous All-Star weekend, James said that he did not rule out the possibility of returning to the Cavaliers in the future, and 2 years ago, he publicly expressed his willingness to end up with the Lakers, and the various incompetent operations of the Lakers management this season seem to really discourage James, although James is still in good shape, but everyone knows that his career is left, and the final peak waste in the Lakers is obviously not a good choice.
For the Lakers, whether to trade James before he becomes a free agent to ensure that losses are minimized may be the most important issue to consider at the moment. But in the view of Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers should not take the initiative to trade James no matter what.
O'Neill said in an interview today: "If you trade LeBron, you will never win again. If you put LeBron next to the right players, they can definitely win. I think whoever put together the squad needs to stand up and fix the problem. ”
Referring to the Lakers' boos from home fans in yesterday's game, O'Neal said: "I've been booed before, and that's not a good feeling. In fact, perhaps no one knows better how James feels at this point than O'Neal. In 2004, the aging O'Neal was voluntarily abandoned by the Lakers and traded him to the Heat, when the Lakers thought that O'Neal was old, no, could not stay.
But the result? O'Neal won the championship again with the Heat, and the Lakers, who dismantled the OK combination, were in a dark moment for nearly 4 years, and although Kobe Bryant was unusually brave, the team's record was in a mess. There is no doubt that the current Lakers have encountered a similar situation as in the past, do they want to dismantle the Zhan Mei combination like breaking up the OK combination? Do you want to continue to gamble on 37-year-old James?
At least in O'Neill's view, the Lakers should not repeat the mistakes of that year, although the Lakers lost the Finals at that time, O'Neal is also a little old, but if the Ok combination is retained, they still have a chance to win the championship. Not to mention that the current Relationship between James and Thick Eyebrow is far better than the original OK combination, the Lakers have been taught a lesson by dismantling the OK combination, and they should not make the same mistake again, O'Neill's warning is obviously justified.