Despite LeBron James deciding to exercise his $52.6 million player option , his agent Rich Paul’s semi noncommittal comments appeared to raise the possibility that James may look to enact an exit strategy should he deem the team’s offseason moves to be insufficient.
As James is under contract, the only way for the 4-time NBA champion to put the Lakers in his career rear-view mirror is via a trade. However constructing a LeBron James trade will be a tall order for a variety of reasons, his age, salary, what a team may have to give up to acquire him and the disfuctional environment that accompanies him.
However as daunting as those obstacles can be to clear , when it comes to making a deal in the NBA, where there is a will, there’s a way. For all the termination in the world to make a deal is rendered moot if there is no market for the player and according to one NBA insider that is the case as it relates to LeBron James.
Bobby Marks of ESPN said a robust trade market for LeBron James does not exist.
I talked to numerous teams yesterday and asked the same question. ‘Would you give up basically the farm?’ You’d have to give up four or five players to go get LeBron James for one year, and the unanimous answer was no, they wouldn’t.”
AIn his 22nd season, LeBron put up per game averages of 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists on .513/.376/.782 splits but was a -54 on the season.
