At one time, LeBron James hinted that he could retire from the NBA this offseason and the Los Angeles Lakers were told a trade involving Anthony Davis could stop it from happening

LA Lakers star LeBron James hinted that he could retire from the NBA this offseason

The Los Angeles Lakers have been told that they could trade Anthony Davis in a bid to stop LeBron James from retiring.

The Lakers exited the NBA Playoffs in the Western Conference Final after a series sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Having beaten reigning champions the Golden State Warriors in the semis, the series loss to the Nuggets saw the Lakers’ season come to an end.

While there was understandable disappointment at the loss, there was arguably even more shock after what LeBron had to say after the Game 4 defeat. The 38-year-old admitted that he had some thinking to do regarding his future, hinting that he could potentially retire this offseason.

“I don’t like to say it’s a successful year because I don’t play for anything besides winning championships at this point in my career,” he told reporters May 23.

“I don’t get a kick out of making a conference (final) appearance. I’ve done it, a lot. And it’s not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the Finals.

“But we’ll see. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me, personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.”

James has two years left of a contract worth around $97 million and became the highest-paid player in the NBA in the process when the deal was agreed to in January. However, a report claimed that Kyrie Irving would like the Dallas Mavericks to trade for the 38-year-old and reunite the former Cleveland Cavaliers duo.

LA Lakers have been told how Anthony Davis could hold the key to LeBron James’ future ( 
Image:
Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
Amid talk of James’ future, Colin Cowherd suggested that the Lakers should trade star center Davis in order to keep James on the roster. Davis still has two years left to run on a $189.9 million, five-year deal that he signed in 2020. But Cowherd believes that the Lakers could trade Davis to the Mavericks in order to bring Irving to Los Angeles.

“Dallas would love AD,” said Cowherd on “The Volume” on May 23. “He solves all their issues. He gives them a second scorer, he’s not at all ball dependent, Luka [Doncic] gives you the 70 games and the consistent energy, Anthony scores 23 without really setting up plays for him, he gives them a rim protector.

“I heard at the trading deadline, ‘Dallas has their eye on Anthony Davis’. And they think LeBron still has a soft spot for Kyrie Irving. I think the Lakers and the Mavericks – you will hear in the next month something, I really believe that, and I think you have to take the phone call and listen.”

LeBron squashed all rumors of the curtain coming down on his career at the ESPY Awards in July. “The day I can’t give the game everything on the floor is the day I’ll be done,” he said before pausing for what seemed like an eternity for fans of the Lakers and NBA.