Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is entering the 2025-26 season in completely unfamiliar territory. For the first time in his career, he is entering a season as a true expiring contract, after he and his agent, Rich Paul, opted in to the final year of his two-year contract with the Lakers for about $52.6 million.
What followed was a statement from Paul that suggested LeBron might be looking to finish his career elsewhere and that his goals may no longer align with the Lakers. That was succeeded by a media frenzy surrounding possible James trades to various teams around the league that could have theoretical interest.
There have been many to suggest that LeBron’s statements and subsequent reactions like posting things related to the Cleveland Cavaliers on social media were because the Lakers reportedly did not offer him a contract extension. However, Dave McMenamin of ESPN had a rebuttal to that claim straight from Paul himself:
“Some have posited that the true cause of this situation was the Lakers not offering LeBron a contract beyond next season. But Rich Paul told me that they never asked for one.”
As always when statements like this are put out, there are multiple options of what could really be going on behind the scenes. The first is that Paul is telling the truth, and that they knew from the jump they would be picking up the player option for James and evaluating his options afterwards.
There is also a possibility that this is simply PR from Paul to make it look like the decision to not extend was completely mutual. Or to show that LeBron was the one who did not want to extend the same way the Lakers did not want to extend him.
Regardless of the truth, the Lakers and LeBron are where they are now. And they have to have some conversations to determine what the best path is for all sides moving forward.
LeBron James focused on enjoying offseason
Despite LeBron James not going into the season with an extension in hand, there is no denying that he is still one of the most powerful players in league history. And if he truly wanted a trade or a chance to play for a new team, it’s unlikely the Lakers would deny him that opportunity given their history of star treatment.
Rich Paul knows this, and that’s certainly part of why he wants James to sit back and enjoy the summer to the best of his ability. The outside noise is always going to be loud when it comes to the Lakers star.
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