“He’s whispering into her ear right now ‘why would you keep him? Just to watch him break the record?‘” - Skip Bayless believes former COTY wants the Lakers to trade LeBron James because father time is catching up to him

LeBron James and his future with the LA Lakers may be in question after Phil Jackson reportedly advised the Lakers front office to trade James and keep Russell Westbrook.

LeBron James' future in Los Angeles may be limited

Skip Bayless weighed in on the former COTY’s opinion, stating:

“He’s whispering into [Jeanie Buss’] ear right now; 'Why would you keep him? Just to watch him break the record?'”

Despite being in his 19th year in the league, at 37-years-old, LeBron James still managed to average 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game.

In fact, his scoring average was the highest in the league at the time of his late-season injury departure. Due to this, many find it hard to believe the "LeBron is aging" narrative.

Regardless, Phil Jackson seems to believe that James holds more value now than he ever will and has reported interest in trading him before next season. Bayless outlined why Jeanie Buss trusts Jackson:

“She has the highest regard for his basketball knowledge because he did as a coach, as a coach, win her championships.”

Russell Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game this season. After getting flack for his turnover rate, he fixed his game, ending the season averaging only 3.8 per game. It was his lowest turnover rate since his 2013-14 season with the OKC Thunder.

With more than $40 million remaining on Westbrook's and LeBron James aging, Jackson seems to believe the best course of action is to save the bank in Los Angeles and cut losses with “The King.”

Despite delivering L.A. a championship in 2020, and averaging the points he did this season, LeBron James’ name has come up in trade rumors quite a lot recently.

The Lakers stand with limited options going forward. Trading away James would definitely give them the most value, but at what cost? Shannon Sharpe questioned Phil Jackson's ability to build a team, saying:

“As far as building a team, when she saw what he was doing with the Knicks, why would I ask him anything? If you wanna say, well Phil, here’s what this guy said this guy that this would be his system, this is how he likes to operate, yada yada yada. okay.

"But as far as building a team, when he might have been one of the worst team builders in NBA History and I’m gonna take advice from him?”

Skip Bayless stood with Jackson, replying to Sharpe’s comments in defense of Jackson:

“Okay, I do think he’s a pretty great judge of basketball talent at the highest level, at the star level.”

Regardless of Jackson’s team building ability, he still stands beside Jeanie Buss in her decisions going forward. James’ future could very well be limited in Los Angeles if the former COTY is already advising them to trade him while they still can.