NBA: Lakers executives want to trade LeBron James and Anthony Davis

The Lakers aren’t a championship contender.
They must plan for the future.
Some want to move on from LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Lakers Executives Want A Fresh Start

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the worst possible position for any NBA team. They’re not good enough to pursue a championship, nor bad enough to tank and get a young star.

Of course, any team featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis will always have a chance to go for the big prize. Then again, they might not have enough left in the tank to uplift this team past the stacked Western Conference.

Davis has a long history of injuries, and James is 39 years old and in his 21st season. That’s why some executives would rather the team to ‘wipe the slate clean ,’ according to a report by Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports.

The Lakers Could Move On From Their Stars

“According to executives around the league, some within the Lakers prefer to see the franchise take a more conservative and, perhaps, wiser route — wipe the slate clean and start over,” reported Deveney.

They Want To Get Klutch Sports’ Influence Out Of The Team

Per the report, the Lakers could then lean towards letting LeBron James walk away in free agency and get something in return for Davis. It also adds that they want to get Rich Paul and his Klutch Sports agency out of the way:

“Let LeBron go, trade Anthony Davis, get the Klutch (Sports agency) influence out of there, collect draft picks and start over with young pieces and cap space,” one Western Conference executive told Deveney. “That is what they need. Something drastic. They’re in a loop they can’t get out of. There are more than a few people in that organization who want them to go that route but you know, they’re not at the top of the food chain.”

This isn’t much of a surprise, as Paul’s influence has rubbed people around the league the wrong way, and it seems like James and Davis have too much power over GM Rob Pelinka.

They Need A Reset

The Lakers have some talent on their roster, but they’re not going to get much better than they are right now. That’s why getting something in return for their aging stars might be the wisest decision:

“They’re not a bad team,” another executive said. “But they’re stuck. A lot of teams in the league are in the same situation. They’re 45, 46, 47-win teams but don’t have the means to get past that. The difference with the Lakers is that they’re old and they need a reset. It is probably going to get worse before it gets better. I think there are plenty of people in that building who know it, but they don’t want to say it.”