The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James started the offseason on what seemed like a tense note as the latter issued a statement when he picked up his player option for the 2025-26 season.
James noted the franchise’s focus on building toward the future, though he made it known he still desires to compete for a title. The Lakers have done well in the past couple of weeks to bolster their roster on the edges, adding players like Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart who can step in and play important roles immediately.
There has been plenty of posturing about whether or not James is truly happy in Los Angeles, but the early expectation is that he’ll be with the team for training camp. James also hasn’t publicly requested a trade, despite teams calling his agent Rich Paul gauging interest in luring the superstar away from the purple and gold.
Despite any outside noise about James’ feelings regarding the Lakers, the organization is reportedly happy to have him back in the fold for next season, via Keith Smith of Spotrac:
“Whenever you sign a player to a deal with an option, you willing give them the control to initially guide the situation. But this notion that a player option gives the player all of the power, is pretty silly. If they opt out, the team is then a partner in re-signing them or not. If they opt in, then the team is a partner in whatever happens next too. For LeBron, he had a player option and made his decision to opt in. We’re just happy that he’s still a Laker,” a Los Angeles front office executive said.
While it seems like the Lakers are fully intent on building around Luka Doncic, the front office knows that there’s no way they can win a title without James. LeBron was an All-NBA Second Team selection this past season and if history says anything it’s that he will remain a constant for L.A. despite being another year older.
James’ career might be on the downswing and it remains to be seen how many seasons he has left, but it’s good to see the partnership between him and the Lakers is still intact.
LeBron James discusses sacrifices players must make to win championships
Lakers star LeBron James knows full well what it takes to win a championship, and he recently discussed the types of sacrifices players must make to win a title.
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