People forget this sometimes, but all the way back in 2018, it was actually Isaiah Thomas who cleared the way for the Lakers to sign LeBron James. Or, more accurately, it was Thomas’ contract.
At the 2018 trade deadline, general manager Rob Pelinka sent Baby Lakers Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, Jr. to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a protected first-round pick. Sending out Clarkson for expiring contracts gave the Lakers enough cap space to land two max stars, and while only James came aboard that summer, it’s not much of a stretch to imagine that the team having the financial flexibility to add a co-star — like, say, Anthony Davis?