A very important offseason is just beginning for the Los Angeles Lakers, and it is one that could chart the course they end up taking for at least the next few years.
In addition to needing to hire a new head coach and trying to retain LeBron James for at least a couple more years, they have the task of upgrading a roster that is good or perhaps even very good but not gifted enough to seriously compete for the NBA championship.
If they decide to go after a true third star, Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers will reportedly be their top target. But it takes two to tango, and the Cavs may not want to play nice with L.A. in any potential trade talks.
Via Hoops Wire:
“A source told Hoops Wire that Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert ‘would never’ trade Mitchell to the Lakers,” wrote Ashish Mathur.
As most are aware, there was bad blood between Gilbert and James when James left the Cavaliers in 2010. The owner wrote a letter to Cavs fans and all of Northeast Ohio right after the superstar left, in which he personally guaranteed the team would win an NBA championship before James did.
Of course, that didn’t happen. James’ new team, the Miami Heat, won it all in 2012 and 2013.
He returned to the Cavs in 2014, and when he left to join the Lakers in 2018, Gilbert wrote another letter that was far classier. In this one, he thanked James for delivering a world title to Cleveland and wished him and his family well.
It remains to be seen if this report that Gilbert would never trade Mitchell to the Lakers is merely posturing, or if it even has anything to do with James, who is widely expected to remain with the Purple and Gold.