There was a bit of a hullabaloo on social media when a source with an impressive track record floated out the possibility that the Los Angeles Lakers, instead of acquiring upgrades to bolster their current core, would instead trade LeBron James away to try and stock up on future assets. That, however, may be nothing but a product of mass delusion, if this report by The Athletic’s Sam Amick is to be believed.

According to Amick, “a high-ranking Lakers source” “scoffed at the idea that the Lakers would even consider trading James”. The ESPN insider then added that this just confirms the statement James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, made when he said that The King “won’t be traded, and we aren’t asking to be (traded)”.

If, by some chance, the Lakers trade away LeBron James, it would cause a chaotic scene on NBA Twitter (X), as this essentially means that the Purple and Gold will be punting on the season. Moreover, it’s not too often that a player of James’ caliber and stature changes teams via trade unless they put pressure on the front office via a trade demand, and according to the noise surrounding the situation, it seems like the NBA’s All-Time Leading Scorer will be staying with the Lakers until at least the end of the season.

Then again, James, being the megastar that he is, will always play a huge part in determining which direction the Lakers take as they approach the trade deadline. Amick added that it “certainly behooves the Lakers to take James’ voice into account” if “the goal remains for this partnership to continue”, which, according to this report, appears to be the case.

Still, it’s hard to come up with any trades in the coming day or so that would take the Lakers from a middle-of-the-pack team in the Western Conference to a bona fide contending team, unless other teams do them a solid and deal their stars for cheap. The Purple and Gold don’t have too many options, sure, but now, it’s becoming evident that trading away LeBron James was never on the table, which is a clear sign of their intention to compete moving forward.