There are a lot of questions surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, many of them involve the future of Russell Westbrook and potential trades for the point guard. But another major question involves the future of superstar LeBron James.
LeBron is entering the final year of his contract with the Lakers but is eligible to sign a two-year extension with the team this summer. Under normal circumstances, signing a player about to enter his 20th NBA season for another two seasons beyond that would be pretty insane, but James is far from normal and showed once again this season that he is still amongst the NBA’s elite.
But LeBron has yet to commit to an extension with the Lakers and his future with the team remains in question. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, no discussions between James and his Klutch Sports representatives regarding his future with the Lakers have taken place yet:
Sources at Klutch Sports insist those internal discussions on James’ future haven’t taken place yet. However, James was non-committal after his exit meeting with the team last week.
As Pincus noted, LeBron briefly broached the subject at his exit interview, but undoubtedly fell short of committing to the Lakers long-term.
“The conversation hasn’t been talked about and technically because the Collective Bargaining Agreement cannot be discussed until later on in the year,” James said. “I know it’s out there, but we can’t even, myself and Rich [Paul] can’t even talk with Rob [Pelinka] or the front office at all because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. When we get to that point, we’ll see.”
LeBron has always been one to keep his options open and do what is best for him at the end of the day, and this looks to be no different. But with the Lakers looking toward their future, especially when it comes to draft picks, they would be far less likely to sacrifice future assets without assurances that LeBron would remain with the team.
The relationship between the Lakers and James has been a fruitful one that has brought home another championship to the franchise, but this offseason could shape the future of the Lakers for years to come. LeBron’s commitment, or non-commitment, to the Lakers will weigh heavily on the decisions the team makes this summer.
Davis & James to meet and get back to ‘championship mentality’
Whether or not James remains with the Lakers beyond this upcoming season is unclear, but we know for a fact that he still has one year remaining on his contract and he and Anthony Davis want to get back to the level they were at in their first season together.
The duo brought the Lakers a championship in 2020 and Davis noted that he plans to meet with LeBron this summer so the two can figure out how to get back to that championship mentality from their first season. Regardless of who else is on the roster, Davis and James remain steadfast in their belief that they can lead the Lakers back amongst the championship contenders.
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