LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are fresh off of winning an NBA championship inside of the Orlando bubble. While they may be champions, the Lakers certainly have areas where they can improve, and there are plenty of people out there who have an idea of what they should do. In fact, a new article from Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report suggests that many top NBA executives believe LeBron could very well end up becoming the puppet master in a deal that brings Chris Paul to L.A.
Paul wanted to come to the Lakers almost a decade ago although the trade was vetoed by the league. Now, Paul is on the Thunder who has made it clear that they are looking to rebuild. With this in mind, the Thunder could be looking to move Paul and his massive contract. If this were to happen, the Lakers could be a landing spot. One Eastern Conference executive broke down how it could all happen.
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Per NBA Exec:
“Chris Paul would love to come back to L.A. I know it would be a dream come true for Chris. I know LeBron loves and trusts him and he would be a good fit. It seems like a risk, but sometimes you need to [execute big moves] to make yourself even better,” the executive continued. “The [Golden State] Warriors will be better. The [Los Angeles] Clippers may be better. The [Denver] Nuggets aren’t going to get worse. Your competition is getting better. It worked [in Orlando] for the Lakers, but I don’t know if you have a normal regular season without the bubble if it does.”
Perhaps the biggest key here is Paul's massive contract. With AD about to sign a max deal in Los Angeles, the Lakers would be missing the cap space necessary to get Paul onto the roster. It may be a stretch but if anyone is determined to make it happen, it would be LeBron.
[Via]