Can LeBron win another championship with the Lakers?

Lebron James celebrates with the MVP trophy (Getty)

LeBron James is arguably playing his best basketball ever. The 37-year-old recently dropped a season-high 56 points against the Golden State Warriors despite no Anthony Davis and a shell of Russell Westbrook. If this fiery streak continues, the King could win his second scoring title and become the oldest player to win one since Michael Jordan did it at 34 years old. 

But James’ team is absolute garbage.

The Lakers are eight games behind .500 allowing the 26th most points in the league and are consistently losing to non-championship contending teams, such as the Trail Blazers and Spurs. 

In fact, the team is so bad, Lakers fans booed them out of Crypto.com arena after getting demolished by the Pelicans with a deficit of nearly thirty points.

The Lakers are simply a bad basketball team with an uncertain future - especially for Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis, who have dramatically underperformed this season. 

Although a trade for Davis is unlikely considering his Hall-of-Fame performance in the 2020 bubble, Westbrook is almost for sure not returning to LA, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. 

“For all the obvious complexities involved in trying to move Westbrook when he's owed a whopping $47 million next season at age 34, one league source described the idea of bringing him back next season as "impossible" based on current tension levels,” Stein said.

However, LeBron says he isn’t done with LA just yet. With one more year left on his contract, the King says his goal is to win championships, until it's time to leave to play with his son, Bronny, of course. 

"This is a franchise I see myself being with. I'm here. I'm here,” James said. I see myself being with the purple and gold as long as I can play."

Despite the King’s willingness to keep playing for the 17-time NBA championships, next season will only be successful if LeBron can use his management skills to recruit a younger, defensive-minded all-star cast with AD playing to his full potential. 

Yet, right now the Lakers aren’t a championship-caliber team, according to LeBron. The Lakers’ title chances, according to CBS Sports, are a grim +1100 and the team cannot make any significant roster changes before the play-in tournament. 

But the King has seen this story before. 

The greatness of LeBron lies in his desperation. When the walls are closing in, he breaks them down. He even admitted that his 56 point masterpiece against the Warriors was a “desperation” move to get something going for the purple and gold.

So if the King can channel this energy in the playoffs, with the right amount of luck and Lakers players actually trying to play defense, the NBA may have itself another championship contender - or if not, at least an interesting offseason.