"That's the guy you need to actually be trying to trade" - Jalen Rose believes LA Lakers are better off trading 8x All-Star than LeBron James
Jalen Rose has proposed that the LA Lakers could be better off trading eight-time all-star Anthony Davis this offseason rather than superstar LeBron James.
James, 37, had an amazing season for the LA Lakers, putting up insane numbers in his 19th season in the NBA. However, the Lakers failed to reach the postseason, raising questions about their roster composition.
On "First Take" on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith suggested the Lakers to trade James this summer. "The King" has one more season left in his deal, but the Lakers have limited cap space to improve their roster. Smith said:
"I think the Los Angeles Lakers should strongly consider trading LeBron James. It's what I believe. Now, a lot of people are going to lose their minds because the brother is 37, in his 19th year, and he just averaged 30 and all this other stuff. If the team was better, he'd have been the league MVP candidate without question."
.@stephenasmith has a solution for the Lakers 👀
“I think the Los Angeles Lakers should strongly consider trading LeBron James. That is what I believe.” https://t.co/CI3l7lAqJ7
However, Rose countered Smith on ESPN's "Get Up." Rose said that the LA Lakers should not trade James, as he's a box office attraction in Hollywood. Instead, the former Indiana Pacers player suggested trading the injury-prone Anthony Davis and surrounding James with healthier players. Rose said:
"That's the guy you need to actually be trying to trade, not LeBron James. He needs a secondary best player that's going to supplement the times that he's going to miss games. At this point in his career, hopefull he plays 60, 65 games. The problem is, that's A.D. also. That's truly the Lakers' problem. A.D. can't stay healthy."
James did miss a bunch of games this season, playing in just 56 of 82 games. However, the four-time champion averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks on 52.4% from the field and 35.9% from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Davis missed 42 games this season, averaging 23.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. He had an underwhelming season by his standards as he struggled to stay healthy. Injuries have always plagued David, as he has never played a full season.
JJ Redick bashes Stephen A. Smith's LeBron James trade idea
Like Jalen Rose, JJ Redick also did not concur with Stephen A. Smith's suggestion to trade LeBron James. Redick believes the LA Lakers thrive on having a superstar in their roster, and they would not get another superstar in exchange for James.
Redick added that even if the Lakers eventually decide to trade James this offseason, "The King" will have to 'approve' it, even though he does not have a no-trade clause. Reddick said:
"First thing to that, that would go against of decades of behavior upon the Lakers part. They are a superstar-driven franchise. Secondly, to trade LeBron somewhere like Utah or Portland would go against that behavior as well. Because there's no way they would ever trade LeBron unless they got sign off from him."