#thisleague UNCUT: 39 and counting for LeBron James

witnessed a quite significant trade. Ogannaobi goes to the Knicks along with Precious Atchua and Malachi Flynn in exchange for RJ. Barrett Emmanuel Quickly, a twenty twenty four second round pick from Detroit that figures to land right at number thirty

one in the draft, just outside the first round. Imagine that New York and Toronto pausing their legal battles just long enough to swing the second significant in season trade we've seen, following the James Harden blockbuster that sent him from Philadelphia to clipper Land on Halloween Saturday night, also delivered the Detroit Pistons first win in twenty nine games twenty nine against the visiting Raptors, who were depleted by the trade earlier in the day, and as predicted as

guaranteed by R Chris Haynes on the most recent addition of this league uncut last week.

All of that was happening, though easy to miss. That's Lebron James birthday December thirtieth, the oldest player in the NBA for the first time in his career, Lebron James turns thirty nine, and of course, the loudest Lebron related headlines on his birthday. They all dealt with the potential game tying three that he drained in Minnesota controversially ruled a two on Sunday, the final day of twenty twenty three.

The league came out in its last two minute report and validated that call, saying that the evidence wasn't conclusive enough to change it. So that's what people are mostly talking about after that narrow Lakers loss at West Leading Minnesota. But for me, it's become an annual thing on my

sub stack. When December thirty arrives, I write a piece about Lebron's birthday because of all the stuff, the amazing stuff he's doing at the age of nearly forty it is remarkable, and it, to me deserves it merits a yearly update. The hockey fans among us surely won't forget that Gordie Howe played in an NHL game at the age of fifty two. You feel pretty safe saying that Lebron James won't match that pretty safe. Notice in the

sentence the use of won't rather than can't. That's because ruling it out completely, it feels especially unwise to take that course. Given what we're seeing from Lebron here in his twenty first season, I think you'd still have to rank him among the top ten to fifteen ish players in the league. He's still a top ten player on a lot of nights. Okay. Does he have thirteen more years of NBA basketball in him to match Gordy Howe? Probably not. However, could we go to Lebron into playing

long enough to supplant Nat Hickey? The same Nat Hickey who appeared in two games as player coach for the Providence Steamrollers way back in nineteen forty eight at the age of nearly forty six. If enough of us make noise about that record being out of reach for Lebron. Could we nudge him into playing until he ends up as the oldest player in NBA history. Perhaps, I'd say

it's conceivable. I've also been writing and saying for months now that Lebron, and again, no matter where you want to put him vis A VI Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the traditional goat debate, on this scorecard, Lebron has already sewn up longevity goat status and now he's just patting his lead in that division. Remember, Lebron is reportedly pumping one million dollars annually into his body maintenance regiment, and you'd have to say it's paying off

if that continues. Does anyone really see Lebron stopping before the age of forty, No, He's going past age forty Based on all the available hints and signals he's been given us, I think if there's any force that is likely to lure him into retirement in the near future, something would have to happen on the expansion front, because we know he's been very vocal about wanting to move into NBA ownership when he's done playing. Something would have

to happen there that demands an immediate response. That's, to me, the only thing that would get Lebron James off the floor anytime soon. And when I've watched him play this season in person, I've had that pleasure three times. I can't say that I've really been sitting there worrying too much about the possibility that we're running low on the opportunities to see him in person. I don't want to get too caught up into buying this whole marketing campaign

against Father Time. And of course, Lebron said recently, I'm sure you remember the quote. It was one of the most circulated NBA quotes of twenty twenty three if the line about trying to give him one loss referring to Father Time. I don't want to get too wrapped up in all that. But the end does not feel near,

not yet. Regular readers and listeners have heard me say often that I consider myself very fortunate to have been sent by ESPN to Sacramento for the very first NBA game Lebron played in October two thousand and three, and given what he's doing now decades later, decades, Yes, with an s you have to marvel at what he's still

doing in purple and gold. Even if it is true that he's been more vulnerable to injury as a Laker than he ever was before, and as I'm recording this, I can make that statement, but you also have to note Lebron played in thirty of the lakers first thirty three games this season, and he was dealing with a less than pristine right foot throughout last season's playoffs. Well, he's come back from that in uber efficient fashion. That's the way you'd have to describe his last days as

a thirty eight year old. Entering Sunday's play, James was shooting fifty three point six percent from the floor, which is his highest reading since his final season in Cleveland in twenty seventeen eighteen. At forty point nine percent from deep entering Sunday's play, that would represent a career high figure.

It's probably been helped somewhat by the fact that Lebron is taking five and a half threes per game this season compared to nearly seven threes last season, but still forty point nine percent from deep would be his all time best if he can stay at that level, and overall, Lebron averaging twenty five point one points, seven point five rebounds, seven point four assists. Come on, man, none of that

should be happening at age thirty nine. But it is the part we can't see and that we can't really know, is how much the lakers middling seventeen and sixteen record entering Sunday's play is weighing on him. And as I'm recording this, the Lakers just announced that Lebron, both with an illness and a left knee contusion, is indeed playing tonight on New Year's Eve in New Orleans. So make that thirty one of thirty four games this season that Lebron James is in the lineup for the Lakers. But yeah,

they're seventeen and sixteen entering the New Orleans game. They are scuffling in the play in zone. Again, they were literally in the Timberwolve zip code when Lebron celebrated number thirty nine. But the Lakers to this point just do not appear to be on the same level as Minnesota or surging Oklahoma City, let alone the defending champions from Denver and over in the East Boston, Milwaukee, Philly. You'd put all those teams ahead of the Lakers in the

championship hunt too. Now, on their day, they can still play the most withering team defense you'll see anywhere. But the offensive shortcomings, the lack of shooting, the group around James and Anthony Davis, and the holes that the Lakers still have well chronicled. And then you still have very real and tangible doubts about Lebron at thirty nine and

AD at twenty nine. Can those guys physically deal with a two month playoff run different proposition to the way they mode through seven games in the n Season Tournament to win the IST and set Lebron James up to be named the first most valuable player in in season tournament history. I know you're gonna ask me about trades. What might the Lakers do before the February eighth trade deadline? Well, their recent preference has been shorter term deals whenever possible

around Lebron and Ad. So to me, that continues to suggest that a trade for Chicago Zach Levine. I think it's more unlikely than likely, because Levine would be a two hundred and fifteen million dollar third option in LA if that's the birthday gift that James was hoping for or if he's merely hoping that Levine ships to the West coast closer to the February eighth trade deadline, my instinct is he's gonna wind up being disappointed. We certainly

have to concede, though, that things can change fast. A year ago, at this time, when Lebron was celebrating his thirty eighth birthday, the Lakers season it seemed utterly unsalvagable. Then the Lakers end up making multiple trades in January and February. They regrouped and then unexpectedly reached the Western

Conference Finals. On another front, Lebron clearly faces some competition now, some very stern competition, capable of bumping him from Hollywood's leading man status among athletes, because seven hundred million dollar man sho he O Tani just signed with the Dodgers. But trust me, King James isn't going away, not yet. I suppose you can argue that he can't be singularly dominant like he once was, where you could seemingly put any random forsome beside him and he could get that

group to the NBA Finals. But look, he's the only thirty nine year old you will fight on today's NBA map, and he's proving more fade resistant than anyone his age is supposed to be. All right, everyone, that's gonna do it for this solo edition of This League Uncut. We certainly hope all your holiday celebrations were warm, wonderful. Chris

and I wish you a prosperous twenty twenty four. Hopefully, very soon we'll be back together for a new edition of This League Uncut, presumably an episode filled with trade talk. The next show will be our first show of the new year, as we dribble toward our one year anniversary

in just a matter of weeks. Now, Please remember, as always, if you have it already, rate, review, and subscribe to This League Uncut via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts from Chris, from producer Ryan, and from yours. Truly Happy new year, everyone, and that'll do it for us, See you next time.