LeBron James should consider Carl Malone’s move to help the Los Angeles Lakers win the NBA Championship.
What’s shocking is that the Los Angeles Lakers, who traded with superstar Luka Donsic in the middle of the 2024-25 season, were moves that helped their team enter a new era.
For the past seven years, LeBron James has been the face of La Lakers. However, James turned 40 last season, so it’s only a matter of time before he says goodbye to the NBA.
As a result, the Cornerstone superstar will make a dream come true for the Raykernation, so someone in Donsic’s caliber will replace him. But before that transition was complete, the Lakers were still able to try and win an NBA title with the James Don Sick duo.
Despite finishing as the third seed in the Western Conference, the Lakers’ journey ended in just five games in the 2025 NBA playoffs.
After a first-round defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s clear that the Lakers need a better supporting cast around the James Donsick duo.
One way to do that is to carefully trade and sign players ahead of the 2025-26 season. But it’s a tough move, given how close the Lakers are to a gorgeous tax slab.
Meanwhile, James could immediately help Purple and Gold become title contenders, following what Carl Malone did in 2003 before joining the Lakers.
Before joining the Lakers, Malone made $19.5 million with the Utah Jazz. However, the postman signed a veteran minimum of $1.5 million deal, sacrificing $18 million for the Lakers.
Given that James has a $52.6 million player option for the upcoming season, he opts out of it and goes Malone’s path, giving the Lakers an incredible flexibility to improve his and Don Sic’s roster.
Obviously there are plenty of obstacles for this move to be successful. First of all, James is reportedly not interested in cutting pay for the upcoming season.
Instead, he plans to sign a two-year, $105 million contract to stay with the team. However, if he decides to carry out the veteran minimum deal, he will need to leave more than $100 million on the table.
Secondly, James is a much better player than Malone was heading into the 2003-04 season. Certainly, he had missed just six games in 18 years with the Jazz, but Malone was definitely out of his prime.
After all, the jazz legend averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game before joining the Lakers. Meanwhile, LBJ has averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game this season.
It’s unlikely that James will go this route, but it’s an interesting idea that will help him fulfill his quest to win the fifth NBA championship of his career.
