The weekend’s stunning Luka Doncic trade has Stephen A. Smith and other sports pundits considering another implausible trade involving a Los Angeles Lakers superstar.
LeBron James has said he wants to finish his career with the Lakers. That reportedly hasn’t changed after they shipped Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks to acquire Doncic. According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, LeBron still plans on remaining with the Lakers beyond Thursday’s trade deadline. The NBA’s all-time scoring leader has a no-trade clause and player option for the 2025-26 season.
It sounds like LeBron isn’t going anywhere, but Smith said he’d consider two destinations if he was in the 40-year-old’s shoes.
“I go to Rich Paul and I tell him I will waive my no-trade clause for one of two teams,” Smith said on Monday’s Get Up, via Awful Announcing. “It will either be to join Steph Curry in Golden State or to go to New York with the Knicks.”
Smith acknowledged the difficulty of New York acquiring LeBron after giving the Brooklyn Nets five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges last offseason. However, he said the Knicks still have an “abundance of assets” that’d appeal to a Lakers organization with no first-round picks until 2031.
Considering his Knicks fandom, it may surprise some viewers that Smith made a more enthusiastic argument for James going to Golden State.
Smith wondered how LeBron and Doncic will mesh in Los Angeles since they’re both “ball hogs” and primary scoring options. On the other hand, he thinks James and Stephen Curry would coalesce smoothly.
“Neither of them really move a lot without the basketball,” Smith said of LeBron and Luka. “… That would not be the case with Steph Curry. Steph Curry moves without the ball. He’s the greatest shooter God ever created. You gotta keep your head on a swivel constantly. You got to get migraine medicine and all of this other stuff. You got to go and get Oxygen after the games because you got to chase Steph Curry around, OK? Because that’s how he moves without the ball.”
Smith believes pairing James with Curry and a motivated Draymond Green would be “absolutely something special.”
“If I’m LeBron James, I sit there and waive my no-trade clause to try to get to Golden State,” Smith opined. “That would be my No. 1 option.”
Smith reasoned that LeBron’s wanting to stay in Los Angeles must be a “lifestyle decision.”
“It ain’t because of a basketball decision because the Lakers ain’t winning no championship as presently constructed,” Smith declared. “I can tell you that.”
Related: Warriors Are Reportedly Eyeing Blockbuster Trade Before Thursday