Jeanie Buss contemplated moving Lebron due to AD Fiasco

quote:

---

The subject of moving James, however, was contemplated by the Lakers, a team source said, weeks before Van Gundy aired it. When rumors engulfed the team at the February trade deadline that it was willing to trade anyone other than James to acquire All-Star forward Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans, James' agent, Rich Paul, was widely accused of spreading those rumors because Davis is also one of his clients.

Paul denied to B/R that he leaked the Lakers' interest in Davis, but Buss suspected otherwise and was furious. The idea of terminating the franchise's relationship with Paul by moving James at least crossed Buss' mind, the team source said, and Paul was made aware of that. That prompted Paul to reach out to Buss to clear the air, and whatever ill will existed supposedly dissipated. At the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference a few weeks later, Buss blamed the media for making the rumors public.

---

quote:

---

One Western Conference GM said he would be interested in trading for James to contend with the defending champion Golden State Warriors, but he wouldn't swap his best player for him because it would defeat the purpose. Translation: James can't single-handedly lead a team to title contention, especially in the Western Conference. He needs a fellow star next to him, along with the right coach and supporting cast. "He's not good enough anymore to take four cadavers and get to the Finals," the GM says. "Not in the West."

---