With the Los Angeles Lakers’ season officially over at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, attention now immediately turns to the offseason.
And of course the biggest question surrounding the Lakers is the future of LeBron James.
James is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, under the assumption of course that he’ll first choose to play a 24th NBA season. If James does decide to continue his career, he and the Lakers are reportedly interested in continuing their partnership, via Dan Woike and Sam Amick of The Athletic:
Both James and the Lakers, according to team and league sources, have interest in continuing their partnership (Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss have both said they hope James’ career ends with the Lakers). But Golden State and Cleveland could try to lure the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in an effort to win now – especially if James senses the Lakers are set on moving on in a different direction without him.
As was noted, Pelinka and Buss have openly spoken about their desire for James to ultimately retire with the Lakers. But there are many factors in play this offseason that will have a role in whether that comes to fruition.
If James does want to play another season, the next question becomes how much the Lakers are willing to pay him in a new contract. The Lakers have other extremely important free agents as well, most notably Austin Reaves, who is in line for a major pay raise.
Giving James anything close to a max contract could severely limit the team’s ability to build the rest of a roster that can legitimately compete for a championship.
James will obviously have suitors around the league such as the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers or perhaps the Los Angeles Clippers. And if he senses the Lakers would prefer to move on and build around Reaves and Luka Doncic, James could explore those options. His desire to continue playing with his son Bronny James will surely play a role as well.
With the season just ending, James will take some time to really think about what he wants to do next, and if he chooses to return for another year, he will be one of the most watched players this offseason.
LeBron James noncommittal on possibly retiring
There was no indication on which way James was leaning in the immediate aftermath of the Lakers’ Game 4 loss to the Thunder as he was noncommittal when asked about his future.
Like in other instances, James said he plans to speak with his family before making any sort of decision.
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