After the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James opted into his player option, there were interesting comments made from agent Rich Paul about understanding the team wanting to build for the future, but how the goal for the star is to compete in the present time. The comments from the Lakers star's representation confused ESPN's Brian Windhorst in the beginning, and he has an update after some time talking to agents.
Windhorst would be on the podcast “The Hoop Collective,” where, when speaking with other agents about some hypothetical deals involving a one-for-one trade, he didn't get the perception that anything with James would be happening.
“There's a few players in the league that you could trade LeBron for in a one-for-one scenario, and I have talked to some of those agents, and they, in some cases, talked to the teams of their players teams,” Windhorst said. “And I found nothing indicating there was anything afoot here in terms of a transaction, in terms of a trade. So I don't feel, as we sit here right now, that that is what is coming.”
James is preparing for his 23rd season in the NBA, eighth with Los Angeles, where last season, he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Brian Windhorst is confused by the situation with Lakers' LeBron James
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
As Lakers trade rumors followed the quotes from James' agent, Windhorst would express his confusion and befuddlement with the comments made from Paul about wanting to compete for the title now and wanting to “evaluate what's best” for the star. Appearing on ESPN Radio, Windhorst would say that James and Paul were “clear as mud” with what they were signaling to the franchise.
“I felt they were clear as mud,” Windhorst said. “I'm not really sure what they are trying to communicate. He has 100 percent full control of his situation; he had the option to become a free agent today, which he bypassed, he is one of two players in the league who has a no-trade clause—LeBron and Bradley Beal. When it comes to a trade, he has total control of whether he gets traded, what he gets traded for, etc.”
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At any rate, Los Angeles is looking to improve after finishing third in the West, though the team was eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.