With the Los Angeles Lakers set to suffer another disappointing season, rumors and speculations started to swirl around LeBron James. After the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics on Saturday night, Jeff Van Gundy of ESPN suggested that the Lakers should consider the possibility of putting James on the trading block in the 2019 NBA offseason. Van Gundy said that the Lakers could trade James for salary cap space and try chasing Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis.
“I think in the offseason, they need to rebuild this roster, right? And to me, it could be a trade for an Anthony Davis, or I think they need to explore trading LeBron for getting as much as they can,” Van Gundy said, according to Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports .
A trade involving LeBron James only has a minimal chance of becoming a reality, but lots of crazy things do happen in the NBA. If Lakers President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and General Manager Rob Pelinka really decide to part ways with James, Andrew Miller of Fansided’s Pippen Ain’t Easy believes that the Chicago Bulls should grab the opportunity to add the best basketball player on the planet to their roster.
LeBron James may already be in his mid-30s, but he is capable of turning the Bulls into a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. In the Lakers’ 123-107 victory over the Bulls on Tuesday night, James proved that he still has lots of gas left in his tank after finishing the game with 36 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals on 65.2 percent shooting from the field and 50.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
LeBron James activated playoff mode to help the Lakers snap a five-game losing streak by beating the Bulls. https://t.co/4EYB4oZ20X pic.twitter.com/bxZEvhuyxh
— Silver Screen and Roll (@LakersSBN) March 13, 2019
In the potential deal involving LeBron James, interested NBA teams will likely need to make a Godfather offer to convince the Lakers to engage in a blockbuster deal. However, Miller believes that the Bulls currently have the trade assets that can catch the attention of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. To acquire James, Miller suggested that the Bulls could explore a trade package including Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine, and Robin Lopez.
“Since the Bulls do have some first round picks for this NBA Draft to work with and some young trade pieces that could be part of a deal, that could be something intriguing to Magic Johnson. Some of the ideal trade chips the Bulls have include point guard Kris Dunn, center Robin Lopez, and shooting guard Zach LaVine.”
Pairing LeBron James with the young core of Otto Porter Jr., Wendell Carter, and Lauri Markannen will undeniably make the Bulls an exciting team to watch in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, in order to have a better chance of fully dominating the Eastern Conference and winning the NBA championship title, the Bulls will be needing to surround James with at least two legitimate NBA superstars.
