LeBron James is scheduled to make his return for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.

James was upgraded to doubtful for the game.

He has missed the previous 17 games with a groin injury. The Lakers are 6-11 in that span. 

Jason Kidd is in the discussion to be the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers if they decide to move on from Luke Walton, according to Ric Bucher.

"Another development that I’m hearing is gaining momentum, and that’s the possibility of Jason Kidd returning to the coaching ranks by succeeding Luke Walton with the Lakers...now sources are saying that the Lakers have actually gotten back to him and that this has gone to the next level. And that if the Lakers do make a move on Luke – which, based on all of the rumblings, could happen sooner rather than later – Kidd appears to be very much in the mix and possibly is even the favorite," said Ric Bucher on his podcast.

Kidd has a career coaching record of 183 wins and 190 losses in 4.5 seasons with the Nets and Bucks. 

As the February 7th trade deadline approaches, Anthony Davis' stated intention is that he will sign with the Lakers in 2020 as a free agent and a trade to any other team will be a one-year rental for the superstar.

Teams interested in trading for Davis want to see if his stance softens once the February 7th trade deadline passes.

Pelicans general manager Dell Demps has yet to return Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka's phone calls to discuss a trade for Anthony Davis, although Demps is responding to other general managers.

The Pelicans are ready to play a long-term game with Davis, including keeping him through next season to force the Lakers to play another year without Davis.

The New Orleans Pelicans reportedly have "no interest in acquiescing Anthony Davis to the Lakers right now," according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Pelicans are said to be in no rush to move Davis before the trade deadline, with general manager Dell Demps avoiding trade offers.

Alvin Gentry stated that he did not know whether Davis would play for the team in the future. 

Brandon Ingram said he's focusing on what he can control amid trade rumors following the Los Angeles Lakers 121-105 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

"That's just part of the business. I realized that. There's different odds [of where Anthony Davis could end up] looking at everything. I can only control what I can control and just be the best that I can be every single day that I'm out on the floor," said Ingram.

Ingram finished with a career-high 36 points, including getting called for a technical after dunking on Corey Brewer.

Ingram stated that there are no hard feelings as Brewer mentored him when they were teammates.

"[Brewer] talked to me about everything. Everything that went on behind the scenes, some of the stuff that you can't say outside [of the locker room] and in front of everybody else. We called each other 'The Thin Twins.' We were both under 190 pounds. That's my dude. He's been really, really good to me."

Rumored to be close to making his return from a groin injury, LeBron James is not expected to play Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

James did complete a full practice on Wednesday.

The next opportunity for James to return would be Saturday against the Warriors.

James has missed the previous 17 games. The Lakers have gone 6-11 without their superstar.

Kyrie Irving has expressed interest in reuniting with LeBron James, according to Ric Bucher.

Bucher stated that "a source close to the Celtics confirmed that Kyrie Irving is genuinely interested in reuniting with his former Cavaliers teammate. 'That is for real,' the source said."

Irving recently called James to apologize for being a difficult teammate when they were both with the Cavs. 

An unrestricted free agent after this season, Klay Thompson would be interested in the Los Angeles Lakers if the Golden State Warriors do not offer him the max and the Lakers trade for Anthony Davis, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

“The best-case scenario for the Lakers is that they add Anthony Davis and then Golden State doesn’t offer Klay Thompson a max contract. They try to get Klay to take a little bit less than the max. And if that happens, I’m told Klay’s attention will be on the Lakers if they have Anthony Davis," said Wojnarowski on Sportscenter.

Thompson and Kevin Durant are free agents at the end of this season, with Draymond Green's contract expiring in 2020. 

Thompson has previously stated that he wants to finish his career with the Warriors.

Lonzo Ball's camp stated that they would prefer Ball go to a team without an established point guard if he were to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ball has been the frequent target of trade rumors as part of a potential deal to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis. 

The Pelicans' current starting point guard is Elfrid Payton. 

The Los Angeles Lakers will aggressively pursue a trade for Anthony Davis before the February 7th trade deadline.

The Lakers, confident that Davis would sign a long-term deal if they were to trade for him, will speak to the Pelicans soon.

The Pelicans do not plan on trading Davis before the deadline unless they are overwhelmed with a package. They are reportedly waiting for the Celtics to become a trade partner this summer and believe that the Lakers best offer will still be on the table then.