4 stars the Lakers can replace LeBron James with if he leaves this offseason
By Curt Bishop
3. OG Anunoby
The New York Knicks made a key trade earlier this season with the Raptors, landing forward OG Anunoby in exchange for RJ Barrett. While this move helped out the Knicks, they may not be able to reap the benefits for much longer.
This is where the Lakers come into play.
Anunoby is a strong 3-point shooter with plenty of versatility on the court, able to play the small forward, shooting guard, and power forward positions.
Offensively, he's a weapon. He's averaged 15.3 points per game with a field goal percentage of 49.8 and a 3-point percentage of 37.9.
While Anunoby doesn't have the height LeBron does, he still is a solid defensive rebounder, averaging 3.2 per game between the Raptors and Knicks this year.
Anunoby is also still young at 26 and would be a perfect rising star for the Lakers to build around in the potential post-LeBron era.
He won a ring with the Raptors in 2019, earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team last year, and also led the league in steals, so the Lakers would be replacing James with a solid young star that is starting to come into his own in the NBA.