LeBron James will be playing in Brooklyn tonight, but he also is expected to meet with the head of the Players Association, Michele Roberts, to discuss the state of the so-called “one-and-done” rule that keeps high school players out of the NBA draft.
James himself was drafted out of St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in Akron, Ohio, in 2003, and his son,. LeBron Jr., will be eligible for the NBA draft in 2022 when LeBron finishes up his current four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
If the one-and-done rule is changed, many expect LeBron’s next team to be the one that drafts his son out of high school.
James is a member of the Players Association’s Executive Committee, and his trip to New York today is his first of the NBA season. It is common for him to meet with Ms. Roberts when he visits New York.
The Lakers are currently fourth in the Western Conference at 18-12, and the game in Brooklyn represents the fourth stop of their four-game road trip.
Much has been written about how the Lakers have no chance to defeat the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets or other powerhouse teams in the Western Conference, but those assumptions are premature. Because the Lakers have a number of players on one-year contracts (Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee, Lance Stephenson, Kantavious Caldwell-Pope), there are numerous trade options available to team executives Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Rob Pelinka.
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A significant number of NBA players will be on the market as free agents in the offseason, and the Lakers will have the salary cap flexibility to sign one or perhaps two max-salary free agents.
James told ESPN.com that he wants Anthony Davis to play for the Lakers, but Davis has two years remaining on his contract … and the Boston Celtics have more assets to make a trade happen.
Also in Brooklyn, James said he would be open to the idea of Carmelo Anthony joining the team, but noting that a couple of other trades would need to happen in order to clear up the roster space.
So while everyone in the United States — and especially in Los Angeles — waits for something to happen at any given moment, the fact of the matter is that the trade deadline is not until Feb . 7, and not a lot of movement takes place between now and then.