“LeBron has extreme value still because he's box office” – Stephen A. Smith favors trading LeBron James and Anthony Davis referring to LA Lakers as sinking ‘Titanic’

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the LA Lakers were not expected to start the season 2-8. The Lakers lost their third straight game 139-116 to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. They do not look like a team capable of making a deep playoff run anytime soon.

On ESPN’s “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith discussed the Lakers' options and said the team should consider trading LeBron James and Anthony Davis:

"But I gotta be honest with you LeBron has extreme value still because he's box office.

"I would get a bunch of young thoroughbreds, some picks and I'll move forward that way because this is a sinking ship it's not going to elevate."

The Lakers are struggling even with Russell Westbrook coming off the bench and Anthony Davis playing in majority of games. The organization does not have a lot of assets to make a trade to build around their stars.

Smith feels that there isn’t much that can be done to save the Lakers' season so they should consider tearing it all down. The team can acquire younger players and draft picks to begin the rebuilding process.

James is still one of the best players in the league and will be attractive to teams who have some assets. However, the bigger piece is Anthony Davis, who is younger. If teams are not concerned about his injury history, the Lakers could get some young players who will at least make the game fun to watch.

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The Lakers have been here before

During the final years of Kobe Bryant’s career, the Lakers were a bad basketball team. The reason they kept Kobe around was because he was a Lakers legend and fans wanted to see him. When his final season was announced, his farewell tour was an event and the prices of tickets sky-rocketed.

LeBron James is not the Lakers icon that Kobe was, but he is one of the greatest players in NBA history. James is still playing well in his 20th season in the league and continues to bring fans to the arena. With the team spending a lot of money on salaries, gate receipts will definitely help in recouping some of that money.

LeBron James is also on the cusp of history. He is set to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record this season. The Lakers organization would like to see him do this wearing purple and gold.