{"id":1058,"date":"2024-11-15T09:54:41","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T09:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058"},"modified":"2024-11-15T09:54:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T09:54:41","slug":"breaking-lakers-betting-favorites-to-land-potential-lebron-successor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2181642543-e1730414677311.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2181642543-e1730414677311.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2181642543-e1730414677311.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2181642543-e1730414677311.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"LeBron James, Lakers\" width=\"780\" height=\"438\" data-img-load-time=\"623\" data-dom-ready-time=\"901\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span>LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0are the betting favorites to land\u00a0Zion Williamson\u00a0if the\u00a0New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0decide to trade him.<\/p>\n<p>Bovada\u00a0has installed the Lakers as +600 favorites, with the\u00a0Houston Rockets\u00a0(+650) and the\u00a0Los Angeles Clippers\u00a0(+750) rounding up the top three potential landing spots for the former No. 1 pick.<\/p>\n<p>The oft-injured power forward could become\u00a0LeBron James\u2018 successor if the Lakers trade for him. However, Williamson\u2019s long history of injuries is a major red flag that could give the Lakers second thoughts even if the Pelicans make him available.<\/p>\n<p>Williamson is out indefinitely with a left hamstring strain. He dealt with the same injury in last year\u2019s playoffs and missed 53 games during the 2022-23 season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Pelicans are bracing for him to be out about four to six weeks,\u201d\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania said on NBA Today on November 11.\u00a0\u201cHis return will be based on rehab and how that treatment goes on that hamstring strain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williamson averaged 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.2 blocks in six appearances before the injury. His current 45.2% field goal shooting is a career low for the former Duke standout.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>LeBron James Hints at Retirement<\/h2>\n<p>James made history on Wednesday, November 13, in the Lakers\u2019 128-123 win over the shorthanded\u00a0Memphis Grizzlies\u00a0as the oldest player to record a straight triple-double.<\/p>\n<p>He logged the 40th 30-point triple-double of his career just a month before his 40th birthday. He finished with 35 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds.<\/p>\n<p>Despite James still being one of the best players in the league, he hinted that retirement is on the horizon.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_vj0apjs8b\">\u201cIt\u2019s not me, it\u2019s the mind,\u201d\u00a0James told reporters after the game. \u201cWherever my mind is is how the rest of my body\u2019s gonna go or whatever the case may be. I don\u2019t know, I\u2019m not gonna play that much longer, to be completely honest. I don\u2019t know how many years that is, if it\u2019s one year, two years, whatever the case may be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_61gkyqm5t\">\u201cBut I said the other night that I\u2019m not playing until the wheels fall off. I\u2019m not gonna be that guy. I\u2019m not gonna be the guy that\u2019s disrespecting the game because I want to be out there on the floor. That\u2019s not gonna be me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_61gkyqm5t\">James has already realized his dream to play with his son, Bronny James, this season.<\/p>\n<p data-mm-id=\"_61gkyqm5t\">The Lakers superstar has a\u00a0$52.6 million player option\u00a0for next season.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Lakers\u2019 Top Priority is to Shore up Thin Frontcourt<\/h2>\n<p>The Lakers have a shortage of depth in their frontline.<\/p>\n<p>Anthony Davis\u00a0is playing through an eye injury while his backup,\u00a0Jaxson Hayes, is out for 1-2 weeks with a left ankle sprain he sustained in team practice on November 12.<\/p>\n<p>Stretch center\u00a0Christian Wood, who has yet to play this season, suffered a setback in his recovery from his knee injury.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to scale him back,\u201d\u00a0Redick said of Wood on November 12, per ESPN. \u201cWe\u2019ll have an update in about four weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williamson played small-ball center for the Pelicans this season before he sustained the injury.<\/p>\n<p>Lakers vice president and general manager\u00a0Rob Pelinka told reporters in September they are willing to put their two first-round picks (2029 and 2031) on the table if the deal leads to \u201csustainable Lakers excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williamson fits the bill. But his injury concerns might turn them off.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on. The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0are the betting favorites to land\u00a0Zion Williamson\u00a0if the\u00a0New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0decide to trade him. Bovada\u00a0has installed the&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on. The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0are the betting favorites to land\u00a0Zion Williamson\u00a0if the\u00a0New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0decide to trade him. Bovada\u00a0has installed the...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-15T09:54:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"437\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.. - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-15T09:54:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-15T09:54:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg\",\"width\":780,\"height\":437},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor..\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.. - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.. - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on. The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0are the betting favorites to land\u00a0Zion Williamson\u00a0if the\u00a0New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0decide to trade him. Bovada\u00a0has installed the...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2024-11-15T09:54:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":437,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058","name":"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.. - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg","datePublished":"2024-11-15T09:54:41+00:00","dateModified":"2024-11-15T09:54:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/3-9.jpg","width":780,"height":437},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=1058#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Lakers Betting Favorites to Land Potential LeBron Successor.."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1058"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1060,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1058\/revisions\/1060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}