The Los Angeles Lakers are off to a hot start a quarter of the way through the NBA regular season. This comes after an offseason in which it was a real possibility that LeBron James could have been traded. That possibility became significant enough that NBA insider Brian Windhorst didn’t view it as a crazy hypothetical.
“My conversations over the last 3 days have crystallized that the Lakers are essentially viewing LeBron as an expiring contract... I'm just unlocking the door because I am not as convinced as before if it's impossibility,” Windhorst said.
With the Lakers getting off to such a strong start, the assumption is that they have a real shot at contending for an NBA championship come playoff time. However, James’ agent Rich Paul doesn’t believe the Lakers are true contenders, as he mentioned in a sit-down interview with Max Kellerman.
“I don’t think they have enough to get to WCF… their style of play will be very easy to defend when you get into playoffs,” Paul told Kellerman.
While he noted that things could certainly change at the deadline with a move or two, James has one final wish before he retires: he wants to be part of a contender. That’s what Paul stated back in the summer when James trade rumors were swirling.
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Rich Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
To Paul, the Lakers are a good team, but not competitive enough to contend for a championship in the second half of the season. This implies he doesn’t believe the Lakers can fulfill James’ final wish at the end of his career.
Paul also mentioned that James wasn’t going to be traded, but considering this goes against what he said in the summer, things might get interesting. It certainly seems that if the Lakers don’t make moves at the trade deadline, Paul will be unsatisfied with the team’s chances of a title run for his client.