On Saturday, during an ESPN on ABC broadcast, former NBA coach and ESPN commentator Jeff Van Gundy unpromptedly floated the idea of the Los Angeles Lakers trading LeBron James.
At the time, it was brushed off as baseless speculation by Van Gundy and while that may still be true, it turns out that the Lakers may have actually contemplated trading James at one point in the season.
According to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, Lakers team president and controlling owner Jeanie Buss considered trading James during the Anthony Davis trade saga because of the assumption that James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, was leaking private and delicate information from within the organization:
The subject of moving James, however, was contemplated by the Lakers, a team source said, weeks before Van Gundy aired it.