LeBron James trade speculation couldn’t be more unreasonable for Knicks

It’s a tale as old as time. It doesn’t matter if a star is going to be made available via trade or not, that star is going to be connected to the New York Knicks. The difference is that now the Knicks have what it would take to get a deal done, but don’t bank on LeBron James coming to the Big Apple.

First off, LeBron said that he’s considering retirement. Now, that doesn’t mean that he’s actually going to retire, but based on his word, his future is up in the air. Every NBA fan around the world knows that the odds of LeBron retiring after getting swept in the Western Conference Finals are low. His comments are being viewed as a way to put pressure on the Lakers as he’s still under contract for one more season before having a player option in 2024-25.

Assuming that LeBron will play in 2023-24 (and he most likely will), there’s a low possibility that it’ll be in New York. Rob Pelinka and Los Angeles would be insane to let LeBron go although he is 38 years old. From the Knicks’ perspective, why roll the dice on LeBron when he’s been vocal about wanting to play with Bronny in 2024-25? Whichever team drafts Bronny in 2024 will most likely also be the team that gets LeBron.

Yes, New York is in search of a disgruntled star to go after, but that isn’t going to be what ends up happening with LeBron.

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If LeBron James were to come outright and say that he wanted to be traded, that’d be a different story.

Even then, the Knicks would have to be hesitant. He’s set to make around $46 million next season before having a $50 million player option that he could opt out of to sign wherever Bronny is drafted. New York would have to sacrifice picks and young players to get him for only one season. LeBron is LeBron, but the Knicks would be mortgaging their future for a year that may not result in a title.

A far more likely scenario is that Kyrie Irving, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, will decide to sign with the Lakers in free agency. LeBron has been vocal about his desire to play with Irving again. Los Angeles didn’t trade for Kyrie ahead of the deadline back in February, but now the Lakers can go after him and humiliate Mark Cuban and the Mavericks in the process.

So, yes, LeBron to the Knicks is still a pipe dream.

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