NBA Rumors: LeBron James Weighs In On Lakers' Trade Deadline Plans

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is not one to shy away from talking about what his team needs to do better and revealed as much in a recent media scrum.

“I don’t really like to play fantasy basketball. This is the group we have going into the [trade] deadline, we’ll be ready to take on all challenges that this season has given us,” James stoically remarked via Mark Medina of NBA.com.

“If there is an opportunity, I’ve said this every year, if there is an opportunity to get better then you explore those options. I’ve been like that my whole career, I’ve said that over and over. If you have the opportunity to get better, no one turns that down,” he added.

The Lakers have been treading on thin ice for the better part of the season and are currently projected to be a part of the play-in tournament if they do not become more competitive after the upcoming NBA All-Star break.

Fans of the ball club can place the blame on a multitude of factors that includes James himself and co-star Anthony Davis for suffering untimely injuries to the acquisition of Russell Westbrook in the offseason that siphoned the Lakers’ bench depth.

However, it has been rumored over the past few weeks that the Lakers are looking to trade veteran wing presence Kent Bazemore in their hopes of acquiring Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Millsap on the buyout market.

At this point, the Lakers’ lack of tantalizing assets puts them in a difficult position ahead of the trade deadline.

The most drastic thing that the Lakers can do is to shop around Davis in search of talent to help round out their bench as Westbrook’s trade value has plummeted, but the former’ contract is way too much for any other team to absorb for just one player.

A multi-team trade seems to be the likeliest way for the Lakers to receive talent that will help improve their chances of rising up the Western Conference standings, though there will be difficulty in that as well as Los Angeles does not have draft picks to give up–their next first-rounder being in 2025.

With the management issues plaguing the Lakers, which include slighting franchise legend Jerry West, the moves that they do by the trade deadline will be heavily scrutinized by their fans and observers.