For now, LeBron James wants to stay with the Lakers, and the Lakers want to keep James in Los Angeles.
According to ESPN, the Warriors inquired about the possibility of acquiring James before the Feb. 8 trade deadline, but were turned down by the superstar and the Lakers. Despite the appeal of playing with Stephen Curry, the Warriors’ waning dominance and lackluster performance this season has been no match for the L.A. lifestyle.
But that could change come summer, when James becomes a free agent thanks to a player option included in the two-year, $99 million contract extension he signed in the summer of 2022.
If James declines his $51.4 million salary in 2024-25, he will seek what could be the final multi-year deal of his career.
Where else could the 20-time All-Star and four-time NBA Champion go, if not the Lakers?
Gardens are also one possible site.
James even teased the possibility of joining the Knicks during an on-court interview after the Lakers’ 113-105 win on Feb. 3, when he came to New York with a Knicks towel over his shoulder.
From one perspective, Towel’s selection and some cryptic social media posts may have been part of an effort to spark the Lakers into using draft picks to help him get more on the roster. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has covered James’ career since high school, believes the move was intentional.
“Obviously, LeBron wears the towel a lot. That’s why this is so great because he has the perfect negative power,” Windhorst said. His “Hoops Collective” Podcast. “He might say, ‘Oh, I just put a towel over my shoulders.’ What are you talking about? You guys are losing your mind.’ But this is it. That’s what LeBron is great at. He calculates all of this. Of course he knew he was wearing a towel that said New York Knicks on it. Why would he mess with the Knicks? Because he was using the Knicks as a tool to put pressure on the Lakers.”
Looking at it from another angle, as Stephen Bondy of the Post pointed out, James was a great fit for the Knicks basketball-wise for the first time in his illustrious career, and perhaps the stars recognized that, too.
The Knicks (33-22) are better than the Lakers (30-26) and more in line for the title, especially when they return to full strength, despite a slump that reached their fourth straight loss Wednesday night in Orlando. It’s a close team.
The Post reported that the Knicks’ front office has reached a settlement with LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, and Klutch Sports Group.
If the struggling Warriors try to acquire James again in the summer, he could still be an option. James has said he wants to team up with Curry, and the Warriors could potentially acquire Klay Thompson.
The combination of James and Curry would be an undeniable super duo. It would be like having Patrick Mahomes and Justin Jefferson on the same NFL team, or Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the same MLB roster (if you think about it…).
According to ESPN, the same could be said if James were to reach out to the Lakers to explore a possible trade to the 76ers to pair with 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid. .
Another possibility is that James may wait to see if his oldest son, Bronny, declares for the NBA Draft in the coming months, and if so, where. LeBron said he will remain in the NBA until Bronny can enter the league and share the floor with him. Bronny suffered a heart attack over the summer, which delayed the start of his freshman season at the University of Southern California, but he is currently averaging 5.8 points (on 35.6 percent shooting), 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 20.9 minutes per game. ing.
NBA correspondent Mark Stein at Substack says: This week, he said he knows of at least two teams who are willing to take the risk of drafting Bronny in hopes of getting LeBron.
“I know of at least two teams on the NBA map that I believe LeBron James would consider signing for much less than $51.4 million if Bronny James was on the roster,” he wrote. . “There may be more.”
James, who is still putting up All-Star numbers at age 39, doesn’t like the way the Lakers are looking in the offseason (when the team has three future first-round picks available in trades). Once that happens, he may look for a final diversion to end his career.
shooting incident at parade
On Wednesday, a mass shooting in Kansas City turned the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade from a place of celebration to a scene of horror and tragedy.
Lisa López Galván, a mother of two and avid Chiefs fan, was killed and 22 others, including nine children, were injured. Three suspects were taken into custody. Citizens heroically helped defeat the armed group.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid reportedly stepped in to comfort parade attendees who became emotional in the aftermath of the shooting. Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce expressed their condolences.
You can read more about the deadly Super Bowl parade here.
Today’s back page
The bell rings for Gotham FC.
The biggest highlight of Gotham FC’s offseason was the defending NWSL Champion’s potential free agent additions.
But the aspiring superteam also acquired defenseman Macy Bell with a first-round draft pick.
Gotham officially signed Bell, the 14th overall pick out of the University of North Carolina, to a three-year contract on Wednesday.
“I’ll try to play any role.” [head coach] fan [Carlos Amorós] And the team needs me to do that,” Bell said Wednesday on Zoom. “I’m just going to learn. Take this time to learn. The way I play, my pace, my height, how I get the ball in the air, I think it’s going to help me overall.”
In Bell’s redshirt senior season with the Tar Heels, the Kansas State native started all 20 games and led the team’s back line, holding opponents to just 7.4 shots per game.
“Macy has integrated extremely well into our team and style of play this preseason,” Amoros said in a Gotham FC press release. “She is a strong player and has shown great professionalism in her short time at her club.”
Bell and Gotham will continue the competitive portion of the preseason when they depart for the Women’s Cup in Cali, Colombia from February 27th to March 2nd.
Gotham opens its NWSL campaign on March 15th against last season’s No. 1 ranked San Diego Wave in a one-off Challenge Cup at Red Bull Arena.
Record chase of the day
When it’s hot, it’s hot
The Knicks’ recent nine-game winning streak, while losing five of the six games since then, is enough to be a heater around here. But there are plenty of other teams across the sport who have had more consistent good runs, only to be eliminated in the shuffle.
Cleveland Cavaliers: The Knicks, who dominated in the first round of the playoffs last season, have moved to second place in the Eastern Conference with an 18-2 record in their past 20 games and have owned the NBA’s best net rating since January 1st, which is the highest in the NBA since January 1st. He helped make Mitchell the MVP. conversation.
Edmonton Oilers: 26 wins, 5 losses, and 0 losses in the past 31 games. An eight-game winning streak that started after Thanksgiving quickly became a 16-game winning streak that ended last week. That success came under former Rangers minor league coach Chris Knoblauf, who was hired to replace Jay Woodcroft on Nov. 12 after the Oilers started the season 3-9-1. Of course, having Connor McDavid, the consensus best player in the world, makes it a little easier to put wins on the board. McDavid had 46 assists and 15 goals during a span of 31 games, two of which were game-winners. .
South Carolina women’s basketball: The Shamcocks are 23-0 with all but three wins by double digits. They have the No. 1 defense and No. 3 offense in the country. South Carolina will try to remain undefeated longer than 2023, when a perfect season was ruined by Caitlin Clark’s Iowa State in the Final Four.
Bayer Leverkusen: The German soccer club is undefeated in 31 games this season, including a 17-0-4 record in league play, and is in position to end powerhouse Bayern Munich’s 11-game Bundesliga title streak. Last weekend, Bayer Leverkusen defeated the defending champions 3-0 and moved into first place with a five-point difference.
pennsylvania state wrestling: There’s something different here. The Nittany Lions, coached by former Olympic gold medalist Cael Sanderson, have an overwhelming record this season with a 10-0 record. They recently defeated Rutgers in a dual meet with a blowout win of 35-3. A roster with top wrestlers in 5 of the 10 weight classes. Penn State’s success is nothing new for a program that has hosted 11 of his NCAA wrestling championships.
Naomi Osaka’s comeback continues
Naomi Osaka is pushing to regain her global form in Qatar this week after being eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open last month.
The two-time US Open and Australian Open champion has reached the quarterfinals of a WTA tournament for the first time in almost two years (since the 2022 Miami Open). Osaka advanced on Wednesday after Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko withdrew from the round of 16 with an elbow injury.
Osaka, 26, took a break from the sport for nearly 15 months due to mental health reasons and the birth of her daughter, Shai.
The encouraging results in Doha began with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over France’s Caroline Garcia, which eliminated Osaka from her first major tournament of the year. Osaka then defeated Croatia’s Petra Martic 6-3, 7-6 (9), hitting 39 winners to Martic’s 17.
She will face fellow former world number one Karolina Pliskova on Thursday for a spot in the semi-finals.
What we’re reading 👀
In his first public remarks of spring training, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was adamant about his expectations for 2024 after a disastrous season in the Bronx. “We’re committed to being champions,” Boone said.
⚾ To realize their championship vision, the Yankees need young players to step up, writes Joel Sherman of the Post.
🏀 The Nets lost to the Celtics in Boston by 50 points — 50! — and entered the All-Star break with no answers in sight.
Don Garrett, the left-handed pitcher who won the World Series with the Reds and Yankees, has died. He was 73 years old.
⚾ Mets great Lenny Dykstra was hospitalized after suffering a stroke.
⚾ Kodai Senga will be playing this season, his second year in the MLB, as the Mets’ ace. How does he handle that mantle?
⛳ We check in on Tiger Woods as we go back to the tournament where he was in a tragic car accident three years ago.
🏒 It’s fair to say that the Rangers’ efforts to revive their struggling power play are still ongoing.
🏀 Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart was arrested for punching Suns’ Drew Eubanks in the hallway before the game (just a quote, but still!).
