Nick Wright has said the two places he thinks that LeBron James should go this offseason, while trade rumours swirl around the 21-time All-Star.
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, has been in the trade rumour mill since it was reported that he was monitoring the Lakers’ offseason moves closely, while prioritising winning a fifth NBA title.
Meanwhile, the Lakers have made clear they have a long-term outlook, hoping to build around Luka Doncic in the 2027 offseason. The Lakers and James’ priorities do not align.
The market for James, who turns 41 this season, is niche. A team can only justify trading for him if they have aspirations of winning a title in the near future and are one major move away from doing so. Wright identified two teams that could make the move.
Nick Wright says LeBron James should be traded to the Golden State Warriors or the New York Knicks
James recently signed a two-year $104 million extension, meaning the Lakers would have to find a big salary in return for him in order to make a trade work. Wright seems to have found two options.
Speaking on First Things First, he said, “What should the [Golden State] Warriors or the [New York] Knicks do to get LeBron James? Both of them, if LeBron wanted to go there, could get him, and the teams would make sense.
“The Warriors one is simple – it’s Jimmy Butler for LeBron. I know the Lakers, evidently, desperately want to hold on to 2027 cap space. If you trade for Jimmy Butler, you would still have 2027 cap space because he has two years left on his deal.”
Six-time All-Star Butler is making just over $108 million in the next two seasons, ensuring his salary matches James’. He played an important role down the stretch for the Warriors last season, making them title contenders before Steph Curry’s injury.
Meanwhile, Golden State would get another NBA all-time great alongside Curry for one more title run.
Wright continued, “Some would argue Jimmy fits better with Luka than LeBron, I wouldn’t be one of those people, but if LeBron wants to leave, that would be a legitimate return.”
The second trade would send LeBron to the basketball capital of America, New York, in return for a five-time All-Star.
Wright said, “The other one, I think, is more interesting and more realistic, and it’s LeBron for Karl-Anthony Towns.
“The Lakers get much younger, you don’t get a defensive center, but you get a stretch five, and it’s something that is interesting for them at least to evaluate for the next couple of years before Towns has a player option.”
Towns is set to make $106 million over the next two seasons and has a $61,015,192 player option in 2027. If the Lakers want to free up 2027, it wouldn’t be an ideal contract to take on, but it would guarantee that Doncic is paired with a star.
“For the Knicks, the team oddly gets better defensively because Mitchell Robinson takes Towns’ minutes and LeBron, as he showed last year, can be a more impactful defender when he’s not having to do all of the offence.
“It would be an unbelievable capstone to his career.”
LeBron James should want to go to the New York Knicks, says Nick Wright
Evaluating the two options, Wright gave his opinion on where James should prefer to be traded. Moving to the Warriors would see him join forces with his long-term adversary Curry, an incredible story, but not one that’s best for James’ legacy, said Wright.
“Storyline-wise, I’d be partial to Golden State. For LeBron James and any great active player right now, I would be partial to the Eastern Conference.
“If the goal is to let me see if I can make another finals with as much left in the tank as possible for those finals, almost any team in the East is a safer bet unless you were going to the Oklahoma City Thunder or Houston Rockets in the West.”
The Eastern Conference is in tatters. The Boston Celtics lost Jayson Tatum to an Achilles tear, and the Celtics traded Jrue Holiday, among others. The NBA Finalist, the Indiana Pacers, lost Tyrese Haliburton the same way, and Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t happy with the Milwaukee Bucks.
That leaves the Knicks, last season’s Eastern Conference finalists, the most likely to win the conference, even without James, and his Finals experience would be a great benefit should they come out of the East.
Wright said, “[The Knicks] are already favourites in the East, and even at 41 years old, LeBron James is better than Karl-Anthony Towns.”
There’s no guarantee James will be leaving LA this offseason, but if winning his fifth NBA title is the goal, he would be far better situated out East than in a stacked Western Conference.