The Lakers should have considered a LeBron James trade whether he wanted it or not

Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.

One of the all-time great NBA what-ifs was birthed today in the form of an ESPN report that the Golden State Warriors attempted to trade for LeBron James before last week’s deadline. Golden State, like many of us, wondered if James might be interested in leaving Los Angeles after showing signs of frustration.

The news blew the minds of fans on social media, forcing them to grapple with the thought of James potentially teaming up with longtime rival Steph Curry. It would have been so weird.

The Philadelphia 76ers also inquired about the availability of James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. The Warriors, though, were reportedly told to check with James’ agent, Rich Paul, to gauge the 39-year-old’s state of mind. And that’s where this gets interesting.

The Lakers didn’t necessarily want to trade James but it also sounds like they had no clue where the NBA’s all-time leading scorer stood on the matter. So Golden State’s inquiry not only let the Warriors know James had no interest in leaving, it also let the Lakers know he was committed to staying. Paul said as much in a statement just before the deadline.

So, James is going to finish the season and probably his career as a Laker because that’s apparently what he wants. And the Lakers will likely continue to toil in mediocrity because that’s what they’ve done the last four years — it’s about time we stop expecting something different. My question is why does anyone want this?

Actually, I understand why James wants to stay in LA. That’s where he planted his flag. He recruited Anthony Davis there. It’s likely where he wants to retire. His son plays nearby at USC, and James eventually wants to play with Bronny. Though James can opt out of his deal after this season, he’s focused on return to the Lakers, according to the ESPN report. I’m sure he still wants to win rings, but that’s clearly not the only important thing to James, and it shouldn’t be.

The Lakers, though, don’t stand to benefit nearly as much once this experiment is over. Since winning their last title in 2020, the Lakers haven’t finished a season higher than seventh place in the Western Conference. In the three seasons before this year, they missed the playoffs once and qualified the other two times by way of the play-in tournament. At 29-26 this season, the Lakers are headed for the play-in again. They’re one game ahead of the Warriors for ninth place. Golden State tried to make a drastic move to save their season and dying dynasty. The Lakers should have been trying the same.

If any other team had been as mediocre as the Lakers have been for so long, people would have been calling for them to either swing big or blow it up a long time ago. But because James is one of the greatest players ever, the Lakers are allowed to continue making marginal changes around him and Davis, moves that have largely failed outside of the trades that sparked last year’s unexpected run to the conference finals (where they got swept).

The next logical step is to assess whether it’s time to start a rebuild. Sit down with James, have a conversation about where this thing is realistically going, then at least consider what a trade could look like. Instead, it sounds like the Lakers stuck their head in the sand and let another team do the work of finding out whether he wanted to be there. Nothing about that sounds promising to me.

C.J. Stroud is a hooper too

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is one of those people who’s just great at everything he tries. I’m starting to get that impression. Because in addition to being an incredible player at one of the hardest positions in sports, the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year is apparently a great hooper too.

Stroud was on The Edge with Micah Parsons show recently and told a fun story about how good he was as a high school basketball player. He said he dropped 40 points in a game against Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s team.

C.J. Stroud says he dropped 40 points on Jaime Jaquez in HS

(via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/vfkOZB3UfJ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 14, 2024

Now, listen, I didn’t exactly do the work to research whether Stroud was telling the truth about his point total or whether it’s really Jaquez in the clip Bleacher Report posted alongside the podcast, but I have no reason to believe he was lying. Parsons, though, hilariously questioned the validity of what he was watching.

Parsons might actually be the liar here. He said he averaged 20-20 in high school, and I’m going to need a coach or someone to come out and verify that before I believe it. It sounded like hate to me.

As for Stroud and Jaquez, both obviously turned out to be really good at what they’re doing today. Jaquez is averaging 13 points as a rookie for the Miami Heat and playing a big role for the reigning Eastern Conference champions. He’ll also be participating in Saturday’s Slam Dunk contest for All-Star Weekend, though his +800 odds to win at BetMGM are last in the four-man field.

One to Watch

(All odds via BetMGM)

Chicago Bulls (+340) at Cleveland Cavaliers (-9.5; -450), 7:40 p.m. ET

The Cavaliers are playing at an incredibly high level right now, winning nine straight games before finally suffering a loss Monday. So, I’m not expecting the Bulls to win this game on the road, or even cover the 9.5-point spread. Instead, I’m looking at the total for this game, and I think it can definitely go over 222.5 points. Though Chicago’s offense has struggled this year, it’s been a lot better in the last four games. And in that same stretch, its defense has taken a step back, which should make it even easier for Cleveland to stay ahead .

Shootaround

— Mike Sykes: LeBron James on the Warriors would have been so weird

— The best moments from the Shaquille O’Neal’s Magic jersey retirement

— NBA stars are torn on whether Sabrina Ionescu or Steph Curry will win their 3-point contest

That’s it from me y’all. Check back Friday for more Layup Lines.