NBA trade news: Kyrie Irving update, Lakers star wants out, Harden on DeRozan

LeBron James faces the realistic prospect of missing out on the NBA playoffs for the first time in his career, Ramona Shelburne has warned.

James left the Cleveland Cavaliers to move to a stacked Western Conference, signing a four-year $154million (£116m) deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to become the franchise’s new headline attraction.

With the Lakers having failed to recruit any other All Stars alongside James, their chances of competing with the Golden State Warriors for the championship are already being cast off.

And ESPN’s Kevin Pelton has released his wins projections for the 2018-19 season which suggest the Lakers will miss out on the playoffs altogether despite four-time MVP James’ presence.

And NBA insider Shelburne has acknowledged that it’s a possibility the Lakers may miss out on the post-season.

She told The Jump: “I’m going to say yes [he could miss out]. I think they will [make the playoffs].

“As long as LeBron James is on your team, he can be 50 years old – I’m never going to count him out. After last year in the playoffs, I think he’s showed enough that you never, ever discount what he can do for a team. 

“I like his influence on the young guys and I like the idea that 3-4 of those or maybe even just 2-3 of the guys they signed to those one-year deals and make-good deals can have a good year. 

“But the West is so dang good and it’s going to take the Lakers probably a good fourth of the season to figure out how to play together and by that point you could be behind in the standings. 

“Did you see the number of wins of the last team? 41 wins, that’s the .500 team, that’s not bad. 

“I think those young guys are going to really benefit from playing with LeBron James. It’s not necessarily a question about the Lakers, it’s just how dang good the West is.

Luol Deng insists he wants to leave the Lakers if his exile is to continue.

The veteran forward signed a four-year $72m deal two years ago but last season made just one appearance as L.A. looked to fuse together their young core.

The Lakers sought to ship Deng off the books in February but couldn’t find a team to trade the 33-year-old to.

His future with the organisation remains unclear but Deng says he wants out if this coming season will be more of the same.

“There has been a lot of talk. Me not playing was not my call. This is an organisational decision,” he told IOL’s Stuart Hess.

“Throughout the year I tried to play and every time they said they wanted to play the young guys, so that’s their direction.

“I don’t know what’s going on now, hopefully soon I will know, I would like to know the answers. I want to play, I want to be a part of something. 

“But I’m not going to be a part of a place where you don’t believe in me. I’m not trying to knock down anybody, but I play for people who believe in me.

“I’m going to be honest about it, for me, if the respect and appreciation is not there then I’d rather be elsewhere.”

DeMar DeRozan’s move to the San Antonio Spurs could work out positively despite his disappointment at being forced to leave the Toronto Raptors according to the Houston Rockets’ James Harden.

The Raptors’ all-time scorer left Toronto after nine years in a shock trade that saw Kawhi Leonard sent the other way despite having talked about wanting to spend his entire career in Canada.

But MVP Harden believes the switch could prove beneficial for DeRozan in the end given that he will work with five-time NBA-winning coach Gregg Popovich at the Spurs.

“Obviously, he was devastated about the trade, we all know that,” Harden said speaking to San Antonio Express News. “But I think this is an opportunity for him, for his career. 

“He is going to one of the best organizations we have in the NBA and one of the best coaches ever. 

“So Pop is going to put him in positions he has never been in and he will be even more successful.”