The biggest question mark surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason has been the future of LeBron James. Despite picking up his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, it was still unclear if James intended to play for the Lakers.
His agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports put out a statement essentially saying that heading into his 23rd NBA season. LeBron’s goal is to compete for a championship. The Lakers are coming off a season in which they were the third seed in a loaded Western Conference, but many still feel they are a step below the true championship contenders, especially given their overall inactivity this offseason.
The Lakers have addressed the center position by adding Deandre Ayton but otherwise have not done much to improve the roster.
Despite the cryptic statement from Paul though, he made it clear that James has not requested a trade and that isn’t even a conversation that has been breached with the front office. Teams have inquired about the availability of LeBron, but he was recently seen at the team’s Summer League in Las Vegas being friendly with Lakers teammates and staff members.
With that being the case, the current expectation is that when the Lakers report for training camp for the 2025-26 season, James will be there, per Dan Woike and Joe Vardon of The Athletic:
In the sections filled with employees from other teams, scouts and executives around the NBA buzzed with speculation about where else James might play, tossing around trade and buyout scenarios that, league and team sources told The Athletic, have never been discussed between James and the Lakers.
Amid the constant speculation recently about his future, both the Lakers and people close to the NBA’s all-time leading scorer expect that he will be with the organization for training camp once the season begins this fall, league sources told The Athletic.
Those same sources said the Lakers have received no indication from James or his representatives that he would request a trade or ask to be bought out of the final year of his contract, which will be his eighth season with the Lakers, the longest consecutive stretch spent with one organization in his career.
This doesn’t come as a huge surprise as despite their differences, James staying with the Lakers always remained the most likely outcome after he picked up his player option.
Finding a team that LeBron would want to play for that could also match his $52.6 million salary in a trade without gutting their roster is nearly impossible, and it appears both sides are aware of that and will be moving forward together.
James has a full no-trade clause in his contract so the Lakers cannot deal him with his approval, meaning he would need to ask out which he has not yet done.
Rich Paul: LeBron James focused on enjoying offseason
While the entire NBA world awaits a resolution on LeBron James’ situation with the Lakers, his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports recently said the 40-year-old is just focused on enjoying his summer.
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