LA Lakers News Roundup: Shannon Sharpe wants LeBron James traded to Philly; Kevin Love reveals how frugal 'The King' is, and more | May 14th, 2022
The LA Lakers might be on vacation already, but they are still one of the most talked about teams in the NBA. They are in the middle of a coaching search that could shape their future. If the Lakers get their coach wrong, that could set back the franchise for years.
LeBron James, meanwhile, seems to be in the headlines about a rumored possible trade. The Lakers are likely to keep James, who has a year left on his contract. "The King" loves living in Hollywood, so he won't be forcing a trade unless it's necessary.
On that note, here's the latest LA Lakers news roundup for May 14, 2022, brought to you by Sportskeeda:
Shannon Sharpe wants LA Lakers to trade LeBron James to Philly
There have been a lot of rumors surrounding LeBron James and the LA Lakers. James has been linked to a trade away from Hollywood, but that's unlikely to happen because of his stature. The Lakers can't trade James without his consent despite not having a no-trade clause.
Fox Sports' Shannon Sharpe, who is a huge James fan, wants the Lakers to trade him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for James Harden. Sharpe pointed out that the duo of James and Joel Embiid could be nearly unstoppable. Meanwhile, the Lakers and Phil Jackson could make the Russell Westbrook-Harden combo work. He said:
"You say the Lakers want to trade on LeBron; we'll trade you James Harden for LeBron James. Put LeBron on big Joel Embiid... Phil (Jackson) will build around Russ (Westbrook) and James. Can you imagine 'Bron and Joel? Wooooo!"
LeBron James is very frugal, says Kevin Love
LeBron James has had a reputation of being frugal despite being one of the richest athletes in the world. Former teammate Kevin Love confirmed that in a recent interview with Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report.
Love shared a story of how "The King" does not want to spend money on mobile data, saying:
"Oh, yeah, I've seen that a million times in Toronto. They talk about wealth and all that, like, sometimes it's the things you don't see. And for him, it's like, if we're in Toronto, right? That drive from the airport and going through customs to then getting to our hotel, yeah, there's no data used at all. He's waiting for the Wi-Fi all the time."
"He's waiting for the wifi all the time."
@kevinlove says @KingJames is the most frugal player he knows 😠https://t.co/8Ij4HFl0YG
James has all the money to spend on his mobile data, but he chooses not to, as Wi-Fi is practically ubiquitous.
"The King" has an estimated net worth of $850 million, and he recently made the list for the highest=paid athletes in the world. James came in second with $121.2 million in earnings in the last year, per Forbes.
LA Lakers fan Scorpio Sky felt sorry for Russell Westbrook
AEW star and current TNT champion Scorpio Sky is a huge fan of the LA Lakers. Being an LA native means Sky has been a supporter of the Purple and Gold since he was a kid. The Lakers were very disappointing this season, and Sky was very unhappy about it.
Most fans blamed Russell Westbrook for the poor performances of the Lakers. However, Sky felt sorry for the former MVP. The two-time TNT champion told Trevor Lane of Lakers Nation about his feelings for Westbrook, who could be traded this offseason. He said:
"I really don't want to sound I'm hating on Westbrook because I really do like him. I really do wish him the best, and I found myself a lot over the season feeling bad for him. He's not like he's intentionally being bad. He's aging, deteriorating a little bit."