NBA Trade Rumors: Phil Jackson wants LeBron James ‘traded’ and wants to ‘keep’ Russell Westbrook in LA

Attention, Laker fans!

Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson is reportedly considering ‘trading’ 4-time NBA champion LeBron James and would ‘keep’ former MVP Russell Westbrook. According to Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke, who interviewed Lakers owner Jeanie Buss about rumors swirling about a LeBron trade, here is what Bill had to say about it:

“I’ve heard that Phil would like LeBron traded. I’ve just heard that but I’ve got nothing to back that up. No on-the-record stuff to back that up. I do know that Phil would like to keep Westbrook and try to make that work with him.”

Meanwhile, Jeanie chatted with the Los Angeles Times and got input from Jackson and Lakers legend Magic Johnson but there was full support from Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka. Here is what Jeanie had to say about her husband’s involvement with the Laker franchise:

“People see us around town, we have breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever… it’s not anything romantic,” she said of Jackson, whom she dated for a while. “He’s somebody who knows this environment and the challenges I have and wants to see the Lakers successful, so he’s somebody I know doesn’t have any other agenda than for the Lakers to be successful, so he’s somebody that I can lean on.”

There has been bad blood between Phil Jackson and LeBron James in the past. Remember when Jackson called LeBron and his team a “posse” and got away with it?

LeBron didn’t take that word too kindly and said:

“To use that label, and if you go and read the definition of what the word ‘posse’ is, it’s not what I’ve built over my career,” James said at the time, via NBC Sports.

“It’s not what I stand for, it’s not what my family stands for. I believe the only reason he used that word is that he sees young African Americans trying to make a difference.”

When it comes to keeping Russell West-brick, that is an entirely different topic to discuss. First off, who would keep West-brick and trade for a living legend who is beating ‘Father-Time’ in his 19th season?

Who scored 2 50+ point games in a season?

Who made the game-winning shot at the All-Star game in Cleveland?

That would be ‘King James’.

All West-brick does is commit the most turnovers in NBA history and throw sloppy passes like throwing pancakes at nobody. Who wants Russ’ value at this point? Certainly, Phil is fond of him and would like Russ to be the focal point of the Lakers’ offense if that’s the reason why. Or it may be out of bitterness and bad blood toward LeBron, which I find is not a good approach.

For Jeanie to mix business with personal life has always been her moniker. Buss can be very gullible and let her closest associates have the higher rankings, while Magic Johnson got pushed out the door for no apparent reason.

Takeaways

At the end of the day, it is LeBron’s decision and he doesn’t have to be traded until he tells the Lakers’ front office himself.

As Jeanie Buss recently pointed out, “if James wants to leave the Lakers, it will be on his terms”. Moreover, she adds, “I want him to feel confident in the team, that we have the pieces to win a championship. He has to be happy...I want to make sure that he’s happy”.

It will not be on Phil Jackson’s terms, who has a horrible history as the Knicks President back then.

The question we all want to know is, will LeBron James be traded this summer or become a free agent?

Time will tell, but this is going to be the beginning of the Phil-LeBron saga as free agency approaches.

What do you guys think about this terrible trade rumor surrounding LeBron? Let me know in the comments and share your thoughts about this whole fiasco.

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