LeBron James won’t be traded by the Los Angeles Lakers (probably, anyway), but the situation in Southern California has gotten so ridiculous that there is now legitimate talk of a shocking trade being something to consider. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith appeared on SportsCenter tonight and revealed that people close to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss are telling her to trade James, who has three years left on his contract (and no no-trade clause). “We don’t know what the hell is going on in Los Angeles,” Smith explained. “You’ve got folks close to Jeanie Buss imploring her to trade LeBron James. He does not have a no-trade clause and now you haven’t given him the coach he wanted.” James was reportedly on board with the Lakers hiring his former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach in Ty Lue. Multiple reports tonight, though, have confirmed that Lue will not be getting the Lakers job. Los Angeles was reportedly unwilling to give him complete control of his assistant coach hires. The Lakers were also reportedly only willing to go three years on a contract, while Lue was seeking five. A LeBron trade, of course, would be one of the most-shocking moves in NBA history. It’s tough to even imagine what he would go for in a trade, or what teams he would actually have interest in playing for. At this point, could anyone blame LeBron if he asked for a trade? — Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels) May 8, 2019 Year 1 in Los Angeles was highly disappointing for LeBron and Co., as he dealt with injuries and the Lakers missed out on the playoffs. It’s been capped by Magic Johnson’s stunning resignation and an embarrassing coaching search. And, now, we’re talking about the Lakers possibly trading him. The drama is surely not lacking.<doc-sep>An idea that seemed impossible entering the off-season is slightly more realistic now with the Chicago Bulls pursuing superstar LeBron James. In an imaginary world where the Chicago Bulls has signed superstar forward LeBron James at any point of his career, the charted course of this franchise would be much different at the moment. Revisiting the previous saga where LeBron was originally leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and looking for a new place to call home alongside fellow former superstar and teammate Dwyane Wade, the Chicago Bulls certainly looked like a possible landing spot for that tandem. LeBron and Wade ultimately wound up winning two titles for Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra with the Miami Heat, but one did end up playing for the Bulls for one rough year. However, the rumor is emerging again that there is pressure on a franchise’s ownership and front office personnel to dish out LeBron. This time, it comes with the storied Los Angeles Lakers and owner Jeanie Buss. The Lakers already had executive turmoil this off-season after the former president of basketball operations Magic Johnson stepped down unexpectedly. The Lakers are starting to also emerge as a very dysfunctional franchise management-wise that is having a hard time gaining traction heading into the summer. The culmination of LeBron trade rumors, the 2019 deadline disaster, firing head coach Luke Walton, and Magic stepping down makeup just a portion of the weird happenings in LA. But the biggest letdown of all this season was the Lakers missing the playoffs entirely. Yet, this looks like it will be an interesting summer for the Lakers as it will be in the Windy City. Here’s a look into what happened between LeBron James and the Lakers and why it could make sense for the Chicago Bulls to jump into the trade discussion.<doc-sep>CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 17: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers both of Team LeBron look on during the trophy presentation ceremony after their 178-164 win over Team Giannis during the NBA All-Star game as part of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend at Spectrum Center on February 17, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) Miami Heat: What in the world are they to do with Dion Waiters? Miami Heat: What in the world are they to do with Dion Waiters? by Kenneth Wilson With controversy swirling around the Los Angeles Lakers, there may be a groundswell of support to trade LeBron James. Might the Miami Heat be a target? Everything that could go wrong for the Los Angeles Lakers the last couple months has gone wrong. With Magic Johnson abruptly abdicating his role as team president, a power vacuum appearing and seemingly being filled by Kurt Rambis and his wife Linda, and an inability to even give their head coaching job away to a capable candidate, there are rumors that the Lakers may look to trade LeBron James. Could the Miami Heat get involved in the deal? According to a report from Stephen A. Smith, some in team owner Jeanie Buss’s inner circle have urged her to trade LeBron, and as a result a betting market quickly formed. With all the turmoil in Laker Land, the Knicks and Clippers are only +700 to add LeBron James next season while the Cavs and Heat are not far off. The Lakers remain the favorites. pic.twitter.com/ubPolG74W9 — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 9, 2019 As you’d imagine, even with the rumors, the Lakers are a heavy favorite to keep LeBron James simply by not trading him. Behind the Lakers come the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers, both teams who have massive amounts of cap space which would simplify any such trade. Trailing the top three by a decent margin comes the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat, the first two teams LeBron played for. Such a deal would be tricky for the Heat, although clearly worth it virtually regardless the cost. For better or worse, the Miami Heat have an expensive roster with a number of overpaid contracts which would make salary matching a breeze in a multitude of combinations, but they also have a dearth of low-cost, high-value assets with which to sweeten a deal. That’s a problem because you’re probably not going to pull off a deal for LeBron James with a package of Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Kelly Olynyk with a couple unprotected first round picks, no matter how easily it works in ESPN’s trade machine. Of course, a betting market’s existence means very little in the real world. It simply means that a sports book knows that people will want to wager on an event (the less likely the more appealing, sometimes), and an event like the trading of LeBron James will certainly have betting interest. Given LeBron’s willingness to return to an old team, you simply have to include the Cavs and Miami Heat in the wagering options. If the Heat did swing for the fences and acquire LeBron, however, the next interesting question is how the world around him in South Beach would change. Would Dwyane Wade come back for one more One Last Dance? Would Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside be more likely to opt out of their contracts (just think, the Heat could add LeBron James AND miraculously come up with a max slot this summer)? Probably won’t happen, but imagine if it did.<doc-sep>
Jason’s 2018-19 NBA picks record through May 9: 29-29-1 ATS, 0-6 ML (minus-12.63 units), 38-25-1 Totals We have to talk about the elephant in the room. His name is Stephen A. Smith, who went on ESPN’s SportsCenter Wednesday night and dropped a bombshell on viewers. Smith said, breathlessly, that he’d been on the phone with “a couple of people,’ and reported the following regarding the Los Angeles Lakers: “We don’t know what the hell is going on in Los Angeles. You’ve got folks close to [Lakers owner] Jeanie Buss imploring her to trade LeBron James.’ All righty then. Smith isn’t known for investigative journalism, but when it comes to the NBA – and especially the Lakers – it seems like everything’s getting played out for us in public, in real time. Is King James actually on his way out? While we’re waiting for the first trade props to hit the NBA odds board, let’s dig deep, peel back the layers, and get to know the real story behind all this kerfuffle. All In The Family Let’s start with what we know. The Lakers were reportedly in negotiations with Tyronn Lue, who led LeBron to a championship two years ago with the Cleveland Cavaliers, to take over the head coaching role in Los Angeles. Those negotiations broke down Wednesday, according to ESPN and “league sources.’ And now a little context. The Lakers front office has been a mess since head coach Phil Jackson “retired’ at the end of the 2010-11 campaign, and things got markedly worse after owner Jerry Buss died in early 2013. It’s been palace intrigue ever since, with Buss’ 66-percent share in the Lakers split evenly among his six children – and Jeanie (romantically linked with Jackson at the time) taking over as team governor. She became team president in 2013-14, with help from her brother Jim as executive VP of basketball operations. Rambo In The Desert Then, the deluge. Jim Buss had been learning how to run the Lakers at the feet of his father since 1998, and was expected to eventually run the show – but made a string of curious decisions when given the chance. He was eventually fired/allowed to step down in 2017 and replaced by Magic Johnson, who promptly resigned last month. So who’s in Jeanie Buss’ ear now? According to the rumor mill, it’s Kurt Rambis. The former beloved power forward for the “Showtime’ Lakers is a Jackson acolyte, but never had the same fan support as a coach, bouncing from L.A. to the Minnesota Timberwolves, then back to the Lakers, then the New York Knicks, and once again to the Lakers last September as “senior basketball advisor.’ Count To Five Which brings us to Wednesday. Rambis and GM Rob Pelinka (who doesn’t have very many fans himself) apparently wanted Jason Kidd (ditto) to be on Lue’s coaching staff if they were going to give him the job. They also offered Lue a three-year contract instead of the five they gave the previous head coach, Luke Walton. “Forget that,’ Lue said, and here we are. The messier things get in L.A., the more likely we’ll see them go nuclear and trade James – but it would still be a bolt out of the blue if it happened anytime soon. There are plenty more “LeBron people’ who could take over as head coach, like Juwan Howard, his former teammate with the Miami Heat. And James has been busy shadowing Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard during these playoffs, trying to coax the impending free agent to come back to his hometown.