LA Lakers Rumors Roundup: Lakers have no plans to trade LeBron James despite inquiries, team reluctant to part ways with future first round picks and more | July 30, 2022
The LA Lakers are entering a very important season after a disappointing 2021-22 campaign. LeBron James has a year left on his contract and there has been no clear indication that he'll be signing a new deal. Some teams have inquired about "The King" regarding his availability via trade.
Meanwhile, the Lakers front office is trying to find ways to improve their roster. Russell Westbrook has been involved in several trade talks, but no deal has been reached. Teams willing to absorb Westbrook's contract want first round draft picks, something the Lakers are reluctant to part ways with.
Here is the latest LA Lakers rumors roundup for July 30 brought to you by Sportskeeda.
LA Lakers has no plans to trade LeBron James despite multiple inquiries
LeBron James is eligible to sign a two-year extension starting on Aug. 4. However, James could wait and see how the LA Lakers can turn the roster into contenders. Due to his contract status, the Lakers have been receiving calls regarding James' availability, per NBA insider Marc Stein's report.
Stein wrote in his latest Substack piece that the Lakers are not interested in entertaining trade ideas for their aging superstar. The team are confident about their chances of convincing James to sign a new deal and stay in Hollywood. Stein also pointed out that James' family loves living in Southern California.
Add LeBron James' contract extension to the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving/Donovan Mitchell/Russell Westbrook transactional sagas in an NBA August not exactly as dormant as advertised ... here's the full breakdown in your latest This Week In Basketball column: marcstein.substack.com/p/decision-tim…
James is entering the 20th season of his career. The past two seasons have been disappointing for him and the Lakers. However, the team are moving in the right direction after hiring Darvin Ham as head coach. The Lakers also got younger with their free agent signings.
LA Lakers reluctant to part ways with future first round picks
The LA Lakers are actively trying to trade Russell Westbrook and his $47 million contract. The Lakers offered Westbrook to the Brooklyn Nets for Kyrie Irving, but the Nets wanted two first round picks attached to Irving. The Indiana Pacers were also willing to acquire Westbrook's deal in exchange for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
However, the Pacers also wanted to get two first round picks from the Lakers. The team can only part ways with their 2027 and 2029 first round picks. The acquisition of Anthony Davis drained the Lakers' stash of draft picks. That led to an NBA championship in 2020, but it's a different situation now.
Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported that the Lakers are "more reluctant" to part ways with their remaining draft picks. Woike believes that the franchise is realizing that they will need to be patient regarding Westbrook. Opposing teams' demands are likely to go down towards the trade deadline.
"Asked what he’d do in their situation, one rival general manager just sighed."
@DanWoikeSports on where the @Lakers stand on the one-year anniversary of the Russell Westbrook trade.
lat.ms/3Q4NxbP
Predicted LA Lakers starting lineup next season
The LA Lakers have made plenty of moves this offseason. The Lakers hired Darvin Ham as their new head coach, while drafting Max Christie. They also signed Troy Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker IV, Thomas Bryant, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones in free agency.
Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider filled the two two-way contract spots on the roster. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Austin Reaves, Wenyen Garbiel, Kendrick Nunn and Talen Horton-Tucker remained with the team. Jovan Buha of The Athletic predicted what the Lakers' starting lineup will be next season.
The Lakers’ offseason is far from settled. A lot can and likely will change between now and opening night.
But here’s an assessment of the current version of the roster, including the projected depth chart, rotation and positional battles: theathletic.com/3433610/2022/0…
Westbrook is at point guard, with Reaves as the shooting guard. James is the starting small forward, while Anthony Davis is at power forward. As for the starting center, Buha thinks Bryant will earn the job due to his shooting ability. He noted that Reaves' rookie season made him a better player.