Are we witnessing the beginning of the end for LeBron James in Los Angeles?

RC Nazemi

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Are we witnessing the beginning of the end for LeBron James in Los Angeles? image

© Gary A. Vasquez

It is most certainly a new day and a new age in Los Angeles. A city and an organization built on the backs of stars are currently transitioning from one to another. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are rolling right now despite an embarrassing loss to the Phoenix Suns in their last showing.

The Lakers' new star to carry them into the future, Luka Dončić, is playing MVP-caliber basketball, and frankly, so is Austin Reaves. 

More: Do the Lakers legitimately have two MVP candidates?

With those two playing so tremendously, it got fans excited to see what the team would look like when LeBron returned from injury. After missing the first 14 games of the season, however, his return has been anything but ceremonious. 

Since his return, he’s been on the brink of spoiling his streak of scoring 10+ points multiple times, and outside of some games with flashy assists, he has looked very pedestrian for his standards. 

With the news of a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade reigniting in the past few days, it has brought up an interesting question. Could this be the last season we see LeBron James in Los Angeles? 

There is buzz that this could be the end for LeBron James in LA

When there is talk of a trade for a player of the caliber of Giannis Antetokounmpo, you explore and dig into every avenue to see if it’s possible. In the case of the Los Angeles Lakers, it gets a bit tricky. 

To match the salary, you would need to trade Austin Reaves as well as three to four other role players, gutting the depth of this team. Or, you could just trade LeBron James. 

One, that’s not how you treat your star players, especially not LeBron James. Two, he has a no-trade clause, and I doubt he wants to finish the last year or two of his career in Wisconsin.

It does, however, beg the question whether having a player with that kind of salary on the books is worth it at this stage of his career when the no-trade clause makes it a complete non-asset. According to Eric Pincus, there is buzz around the league that the Lakers might be done riding that fence. 

You always want to make sure your stars, especially GOATs, never feel like they’re being forced out the door, but in the Lakers' case, they might be looking to shed that salary in order to fully kick-start this new Luka Dončić-led era.  

With Dončić out for personal reasons against Toronto tonight, we may just see one last ‘LeBronto’ performance for the road. 

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