One of the biggest stories of this offseason surrounds former Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, who prior to the start of free agency informed the franchise that he would not be returning to the team for his 24th NBA season.
The Lakers and James had always maintained good communication throughout the eight years he spent with the team, but there was apparently little leading up to his decision. According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers were denied a videoconference with James when trying to set one up and never had any discussions about a future together:
For a week, neither James’ camp nor the Lakers had exchanged formal or even informal offers, according to sources on both sides of the situation.
Nor had they discussed a vision for a future together, or even met face-to-face — in person or virtually.
The Lakers called Paul a week before free agency, when teams could approach their own free agents, to try to arrange a videoconference with James and were told he wasn’t available.
Paul didn’t say why at the time, but he told ESPN it was because James had already decided he didn’t want to return to the Lakers and that there was no need for a call.
Furthermore, by the time the Lakers did reach out to James and his agent Rich Paul, it was already too late as the superstar had decided that it was time to move on:
By the time Los Angeles called a week before free agency, Paul said James was already “a thousand percent” certain he was ready to move on from the Lakers. That, Paul knew, was a significant shift from just a few weeks prior, when James told Paul he was “80%” sure he’d play another season with the Lakers.
It is interesting that James seemingly entered the offseason believing he would return to the purple and gold, but something clearly changed along the way. What it was that switched James’ mind is unclear, but it was simply time for the two sides to go their separate way. But he will still be revered as one of the greatest players to ever put on a Lakers jersey.
Rich Paul explains why LeBron James is leaving Lakers
On his podcast, Paul recently explained why James made the decision to leave the Lakers and finish his career elsewhere after eight seasons in L.A.
With the Lakers prioritizing building around Luka Doncic, it seems that it was just time for James to go his separate way.
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