The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most successful and renowned professional sports organizations in the world, but the 2021-22 NBA season may just be “rock-bottom” for them.
LeBron James and Co. added the likes of Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and other former All-Star-level talents, but this season has been a complete disaster for the Lakers and they are now on the verge of missing the playoffs as a whole after being picked by many to win the title this season.
Between injuries to both James and Anthony Davis, plus injuries to other key players on this roster throughout the season, the Lakers have had trouble building chemistry on the floor with one another and they just simply do not have enough talent to be taken seriously as a real threat in this league.
Now 37-years-old, LeBron James is still an elite-level player that will be named to the All-NBA list for the 18th time in his career, but he cannot carry this squad alone and the Lakers have hit a new season-low this season by losing to the New Orleans Pelicans by 28 points on their home floor on Sunday night.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Early Look At Lakers’ Options To Re-Shape Roster Around LeBron
Frank Vogel cannot find any stability on his bench, LeBron James is complaining to local reporters and journalists, and during the blowout loss to the Pelicans, a game the Lakers needed to win, LeBron and other Lakers’ players were getting into arguments with fans during the game.
This season has been a complete “bust” for the Los Angeles Lakers and with the offseason not really presenting any means for them to get better because of their cap situation, it is time to start floating around the possibility of some major roster changes.
Of course, the Los Angeles Lakers should try to trade Russell Westbrook in the offseason, but they should also start to entertain the idea of tearing everything down and beginning some kind of a “rebuild process” because they really have not found much success through the years other than their championship in the NBA Bubble back in 2020.
Trading Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Jordan Clarkson, Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and others through the years is really starting to catch back up to the Los Angeles Lakers, which is why trading their stars could be the only avenue to long-term success for this franchise.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Early Look At Lakers’ Options To Re-Shape Roster Around LeBron
LeBron James is highly unlikely to be traded unless he wants out of Los Angeles, but the idea of trading Anthony Davis is definitely a possibility that must be on the minds of the Lakers’ front office this upcoming offseason.
Anthony Davis always seems to be injured for the Lakers and set to make $121.8 million through the 2024-25 season, it could make a lot of sense for Los Angeles to try and move the All-Star big man right now while he still holds a ton of value on the market.
It is going to be extremely difficult for the Lakers to try and trade Anthony Davis, should they be wanting to do so in the offseason, simply because of the fact that he has a lot of “yellow flags” attached to him.
His injury and durability concerns loom large right now and not many rebuilding teams in this league would likely be willing to give up a ton of future assets to bring in Davis right now.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Early Look At Lakers’ Options To Re-Shape Roster Around LeBron
Not to mention, $38 million for the 2022-23 season is a lot of trade value that many teams cannot match right now or in the offseason for that matter. Should they want to trade Anthony Davis, there will be interest around the league, but landing another top player will be extremely difficult for the Lakers to do.
Los Angeles Lakers fans are not going to like the options presented to them in an Anthony Davis-centric trade, but here are some realistic possibilities for what Los Angeles could be offered.
