LEBRON TO THE LAKERS?

Could a riff in the Lakers front office lead to the team signing Lebron James? Apparently, Lebron wants to be a Laker, but how would it be possible and how would it work?

Roland Lazenby of Hoopshype.com has an interesting piece on Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. The article is kind of all over the place but the part that is most interesting is that Lebron wants to be a Laker (at least that's what his sources say).

First off, is this even possible to achieve? The Lakers have no money to spend this offseason aside from the mid-level exception. Unless, for some reason, Lebron would agree to take less money to come to L.A., the teams would have to work a sign-and-trade deal. In that case, the money would have to match up. Andrew Bynum and Shannon Brown would be a potential starting point but it is doubtful the Cleveland Cavaliers would be willing to accept some of the Lakers throw-in players such as Luke Walton and Sasha Vujacic.

Secondly, why would Lebron and Kobe Bryant be on the same team? The article discusses the chance that Bryant opts out of his contract and moves to another team this offseason. That probably won't happen. That means Lebron and Kobe would each have to find a way to coexist. They are competitors and both have similar goals. But each have their own selfish agendas as well, and playing with each other would mean each would not be likely to achieve their career goals.

Lastly, how would Lakers fans feel about this? Kobe is the face of the franchise and has been for many years. He should be a Laker for life. Bringing in Lebron should help silence some of the backlash but many Laker fans are not high on Lebron. He is, of course, Kobe's main competition in the league and many cite his lack of professionalism and ego as a reason to dislike him.

It seems to be a farfetched idea but it is not the first time the topic has been brought up. After all, it is the media's job to speculate. Time will tell the story. Until then, you can read the article here.