LA Lakers News Roundup: NBA Analyst proposes a wild trade idea for the team, LeBron James excitedly posts a series of tweets in support of Liverpool FC, and more - May 4th, 2022

While rival teams like the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and Phoenix Suns prepare for the Conference Semifinals, LeBron James and the LA Lakers are enjoying an early summer. King James isn't used to going home so early and not participating in the playoffs, so he is investing his time in other ventures and sports. Meanwhile, the hunt for the Lakers' head coaching job continues with no prospect yet to materialize.

Let's take a look at some interesting news stories from the past 24 hours about the Purple and Gold.

NBA Analyst believes prime LeBron James' athleticism was more impressive than the current high-flyers

LeBron James during his early years with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Fans today have no idea how athletic and otherworldly LeBron James was in his early days. He would attack the rim, unlike any player we have ever seen, and would jump out of the gym to block shots. James would often take off from the free-throw line and posterize opponents with ease. He won his first-ever MVP award on this day (May 4th), 13 years ago.

"Ball is Life" posted a highlight reel of James' 2009 season and Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey retweeted with a caption suggesting he was more impressive than Pelicans' Zion Williamson and Grizzlies' Ja Morant today.

Both Morant and Williamson are known for their incredible athleticism and 'hops', but anyone who remembers James from his early years in Cleveland would pick the four-time MVP. Bailey said:

"We’ve seen some incredible feats from guys like Zion and Ja, but early and peak LeBron’s athleticism may have wowed me even more."

LeBron James goes on a Twitter rampage after his Liverpool FC defeats Villarreal in the UCL Semifinals

LeBron "King" James arrives for an LA Lakers game wearing the Liverpool FC home kit

LeBron James is not only a fan of the UK football club Liverpool but is also an investor. He is a member of the Fenway Sports Group that owns stakes in Liverpool FC of the Premier League, Boston Red Sox of the MLB, and Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL. King James bought a 2% stake in the football club in 2011 and his investment has reaped extremely high dividends.

Liverpool FC faced Spanish team Villareal in the UEFA Champions League semifinals. Villareal defeated highly-fancied FC Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals to reach this stage, so they were certainly capable of pulling off an upset. Villareal led the game 2-0 at halftime at home but Liverpool unleashed their star power in the second half. Fabinho, Luiz Diaz, and Sadio Mane each scored a goal in the span of 12 minutes to win the match 3-2. Understandably, Liverpool fans, including LeBron James, flooded social media to celebrate their comeback victory.

NBA analyst proposes that the LA Lakers should consider trading their star forward

LeBron "King" James of the LA Lakers on the bench

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith proposed a wild idea on his show "First Take" suggesting that the LA Lakers should trade LeBron James. The hypothetical trade scenario is certainly one of the craziest stories of late and not many fans or analysts are entertaining the idea. A franchise builds around its superstar and doesn't trade him away for lesser players.

However, the LA Lakers are in desperate need of capital and have practically no assets left to acquire more players. Trading James, who is playing at an MVP-caliber level even at age 37, would get the organization a ton of players and picks to build around Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis. Stephen A. Smith said:

"I think the Los Angeles Lakers should strongly consider trading LeBron James. That is what I believe....He is the only person that has extreme value...but (he) is the only chance you have to immediately respectable if you're the Los Angeles Lakers."