Report: Lakers are not interested in shopping LeBron, Anthony Davis unless they ask out

Perhaps no two players have contributed more to the Los Angeles Lakers since the start of the decade than LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The duo led the Lakers to their 17th title in franchise history in 2020 and several playoff appearances following that championship.

So, it makes sense that Los Angeles reportedly wants to hold onto the pair of stars — even though it sits as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference — barring one condition. The Lakers reportedly will only shop James and Davis if they request a trade out of Los Angeles, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

“There are two players that almost certainly will not be traded barring them asking out of Los Angeles, and that is Anthony Davis and LeBron James,” Buha said of the Lakers’ roster. “Despite the recent groundswell from certain media members and fans to blow it all up and trade LeBron and A.D., team and league sources have indicated to me that the Lakers are not currently shopping LeBron and A.D. They’re not interested in trying to trade LeBron and A.D. and seeing what they could get back for them. They’re trying to improve this roster and improve the supporting cast around them and go for it.”

While it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Los Angeles is allegedly gunning for a championship, all in all, the Lakers haven’t played like a contender for the 2025 NBA title to this point.

There was a time earlier on in the 2024-25 regular season when James, Davis and the Lakers seemed primed to end the campaign as one of the top seeds in the West. Los Angeles strung together a six-game winning streak in November and had a record as good as 10-4 after the team beat the Utah Jazz on Nov. 19 behind a 37-point performance from first-year player Dalton Knecht.

But over the last month or so, the Lakers have piled up the losses. Los Angeles owns a record of 14-12 currently and has lost six of its past 10 contests.

Maybe Los Angeles’ victory in its most recent game will help it get back on the right track. In James’ return to the floor against a red-hot Memphis Grizzlies team on Dec. 15, the Lakers earned a six-point victory. The 39-year-old played in his first game since Dec. 6 and totaled 18 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal and a pair of blocked shots.

Sunday’s win was arguably one of the Lakers’ more impressive victories of the season so far. Memphis headed into the contest riding a four-game winning streak, and even after losing to Los Angeles, the Grizzlies own the second-best record of any team in the West at 18-9.