LeBron James opting into his player contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, followed by a statement released by his agent, has fueled trade and buyout rumors for the last week. He wants the best possible chance to compete for a championship, and even though the Lakers now have Luka Doncic, the rest of the roster is discombobulated, at best.

It would be entirely illogical for the Lakers to buy out James. He was a second-team All-NBA choice in 2024-25. Why would they get rid of him for nothing in return? While trades don't appear to be forthcoming, LeBron's name value plus talent give him legitimate trade value if he ends up requesting a deal.

LeBron James becoming available has, typically, been a seismic NBA event. Teams famously spent the several years leading up to his 2010 free agency clearing cap space. Pretty much all league business halted for the first 11 days of July in 2014 as teams schlepped across the country first to Cleveland and then,