"If LeBron wants out & you're trading him then rip it down to the studs & trade AD" - Nick Wright offers extremely bold trade choice for LA Lakers

Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright has made a bold statement regarding the LA Lakers and LeBron James' current predicament. He suggested that the franchise should consider blowing up the roster and rebuilding from scratch if James is interested in departing Los Angeles.

The Lakers were considered championship favorites before the season began but have been heavily disappointing. They are on the verge of missing the NBA play-in tournament, currently languishing in 11th place in the West. The present Lakers team is one of the worst ones in franchise history, and many analysts believe James is on his way out.

Wright believes if King James is going to demand a trade, it would in the franchise's best interests that they should include Anthony Davis as well. He spoke on the show "First Things First:"

"If LeBron wants out, and I think Anthony (Davis) has shown us as great he can be, as the best guy on the team, there is a ceiling there. So if you're trading LeBron then rip it down to the studs and trade AD as well."

He continued:

"But if they're keeping LeBron, it'd be categorically insane to trade Anthony Davis for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and four first-round picks from Oklahoma City ... As long as you have LeBron, you're not planning for 2025 or 2026; you're planning for right now."

Wright believes the post-LeBron era in Los Angeles cannot be solely run by Anthony Davis.

The forward is injured far too often and hasn't been able to carry a team on his own. He added that if James is planning on staying, trading Davis would be a mistake. That's because there is no other trade scenario that would guarantee the Purple and Gold a championship in the near future.

He brought up the 2020 playoff run by Davis. Wright suggested that the Lakers cannot plan for the future with James on the roster at the same time.

The LA Lakers have to entertain the possibility of trading at least one of their stars in the summer. Russell Westbrook running point hasn't worked out well for the team, and they are going to either get rid of him or Davis.

James is carrying the load of the team at age 37, and it doesn't look like he is going to slow down anytime soon. The only other scenario that was rumored earlier this season was James going back home to Cleveland. However, even that doesn't look like it's going to materialize.

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LeBron James and LA Lakers might miss the play-in tournament

LeBron James of the LA Lakers complains to referee Tom Washington.

The LA Lakers had a showdown with the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, but the night was a nightmare for Laker Nation.

They entered the game in ninth place and were one game ahead of 10th-place Pelicans (32-43). That meant the winner of this game would get the ninth spot. Not only did the Lakers lose that game 116-108 and their position in the standings, but they also did it in dramatic fashion, blowing a 23-point lead. The Lakers also lost 128-110 at the Dallas Mavericks.

The LA Lakers (31-44) are now tied for 10th in the West, with the 11th-place San Antonio Spurs (31-45) breathing down their necks. They share the same record, but the Spurs own the tiebreaker, so the Lakers are technically out of the play-in spots. The Pelicans (33-43) are ninth.

The Spurs and Lakers split their season series 2-2, so their head-to-head matchup is not considered. San Antonio has a better conference record (21-24) than LA (16-29), so they have the advantage in case of a tie.

No LeBron James-led team has ever been in this position before. However, in James' first season in Los Angeles, the Lakers (37-45) missed the playoffs, a first for James.

The Lakers now have the third-toughest schedule remaining in the league. If they don't win most of their final seven games, they may not have the opportunity to compete in the NBA play-in tournament this year.