The biggest question mark surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers heading into the offseason is the status of LeBron James as while all signs point to him returning for another season, the 40-year-old is naturally taking some time to contemplate his future.
After playing 22 seasons, there’s no denying that the end is near for James and he is likely asking himself how much longer he can keep playing, especially at an elite level.
One of his Lakers teammates thinks there is a lot left in the tank, however. According to TMZ, Dalton Knecht is hoping that he still has many years left playing with James:
“He said he can play another 5, 10 years,” Knecht said of his Hall of Fame-bound teammate. “So, me and ‘Bron could run it for another five, 10 years. Why not?!”
Knecht has already gotten to play with some superstars in his young career in James, Anthony Davis and Luka Doncic. He had a whirlwind of a rookie season as he burst onto the scene early in the year. He was then dealt to the Charlotte Hornets at the trade deadline, although the deal fell through when the Lakers failed Mark Williams’ physical and Knecht wound up back in L.A. to finish the year.
James is not the only one whose status is up in the air heading into the offseason as it’s of course possible that the Lakers look to trade Knecht again. He is one of the organization’s most valuable assets and it’s no secret the Lakers need to add a center, likely on the trade market.
If Knecht somehow survives the offseason though then he will get his wish and team up with James for another season. Five to 10 more years seems out of the question, although you never know when it comes to LeBron.
LeBron James on what makes Luka Doncic so special
Part of what could get LeBron James to play for the Lakers longer is the fact that they have another superstar in Luka Doncic that can help ease his workload. James recently discussed what makes Doncic so special.
“It’s always his pace. It’s always been his pace,” James said. “It’s never been a game where it’s like ‘you can speed me up, he can speed me up, this bigger guy can be more physical, this smaller guy can get underneath me.’ It’s like, he moves at his own pace. And he’s never ever been on the floor, where he’s allowed someone to dictate where they’re going to put him on the floor. It’s always been the opposite. And for us, we all working off of that, we’ve just got to stay ready. We’ve seen throughout his career, there’s plays and passes that only certain guys in league history have ever been able to make. And for us, we just have to make sure that we continue to stay ready, especially when you’re going against handsy teams, athletic teams and teams that try to speed you up. We always have to keep our head on a swivel, because you just never know when the ball may find you. And that’s a good thing, that’s keeping the defense off balance and it’s a great thing to have that.”
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