In the absence of James and thick eyebrows, the Lakers defeated the Celtics 114-105 away, relying on the teamwork of all the soldiers and Reaves' super explosion, the Lakers ended the 2-game losing streak, and the 6-game road trip record was raised to 2-2, and the season record also came to 25-25, the winning rate returned to 50%, and because the Jazz lost to the 76ers, the Lakers and the Jazz opened a win and continued to consolidate the ninth position in the West. But the joy of this victory was diluted by some discordant voices, and even made the Lakers even more panicked.
As the trade deadline approaches, many players in the NBA have fallen into trade rumors, and the Lakers are no exception, in the past few weeks, Reaves, Hachimura and Russell have frequently appeared in the trade news, and even the thick eyebrows have been rumored to be traded, but there are almost no trade rumors about James, until in recent days, a reporter who claims to have accurately broken the NBA transfer news many times spoke out, the reporter said: "I heard from NBA sources that the first target on the Lakers' list is to trade the 39-year-old James." Pelinka is looking for the right team to trade and is close to a suitor. ”
As soon as the news came out, it stirred up a thousand waves, and most of the media and fans thought it was incredible, because if the Lakers traded James, it meant that they would completely give up this season, or even choose to start rebuilding, and as a commercial league team, it is undoubtedly stupid to take the initiative to give up James as a money printing machine with super high commercial value, after all, for most NBA team owners, the championship is secondary, and making money is the main thing, since James joined the Lakers in 2018, the star effect he brought is visible to the naked eye, and soon re-overtook the Clippers to become the king of Los Angeles, even the thick eyebrows chose to join the Lakers because of James. To put it bluntly, without James, the Lakers will have a hard time staying attractive to star players, and will soon be suppressed by the Clippers in popularity.
In this regard, the CBS reporter wrote that "James does not have a trade veto, but he has a 'I am LeBron James' clause. Come to think of it, would you send what might be the best basketball player of all time to Sacramento just because they offered an extra first-round pick? James is a player of such high status that his very existence is effectively a trade veto. If he didn't want to go anywhere, he would simply retire. If the Lakers try to trade him without his consent, they will forever be tagged as the team that traded LeBron James. Any future star considering a move to Los Angeles will say to himself: 'If they do this to LeBron, they will do it to me.'" 'The Lakers have always advertised themselves as a team that treats stars well. They would never risk their reputation being tarnished to trade James. ”
To put it bluntly, the Lakers will not and dare not trade James, unless they are willing to bear the consequences that there will be no superstars to join in the future, James chose to join when the Lakers were at their lowest, and helped the Lakers return to the top step by step, winning the 17th championship in team history, and won the first midseason championship trophy in history this year, James has dedicated everything to the Lakers, but if the Lakers trade him at the end of James' career, it is difficult for those stars who originally wanted to join not to hesitate, the Lakers can even trade James, and they will definitely trade themselves one day in the future。 It can even be said that as long as James is traded, the thick eyebrows will definitely not stay for long, and the Lakers' reputation in the NBA will be completely stinky.
So theoretically, as long as the Lakers management doesn't go crazy, they won't choose to take the initiative to trade James, unless James himself chooses to apply for a trade, or explicitly tells the Lakers that he will not exercise the player option this summer and will leave the team for another team, and the Lakers can only choose to trade him in exchange for some rewards in order to avoid losing James for nothing. But in recent days, a key person has come forward to speak, and that is James' agent, Rich Paul, who said in an interview that James will not be traded, and James has not asked to be traded.
Many people may forget that James chose to join the Lakers in part because his children went to school in Los Angeles, and he already planned to develop his business territory in Los Angeles and Hollywood after retiring, so James basically would not choose to leave Los Angeles at this time. He spent almost 6 years in Los Angeles gradually building his own business territory, how could he leave on his own initiative. In fact, no matter how stupid the Lakers management is, they will not choose to trade James at this time, because anyone with a discerning eye can see that James' career is nearing the end, and the more this time, the more James sells tickets.
Think about it, if the Lakers are really willing to choose Bronny next season, how many fans will buy tickets at a high price just to see the James father and son perform on the same stage? When it comes to James's retirement season, how many fans will not hesitate to buy souvenirs and tickets in order to have one last look at James's live game? This is a lot of money, and even the new marketers know how profitable and profitable it is, how can the Lakers management give up such an opportunity? To put it bluntly, even if the Lakers have been rotten in the past few years, as long as James is willing to continue to stay, the Lakers will obediently send the top salary.