“LeBron James COMMITS to Lakers – ‘Unfinished Business’ in LA!

Amidst all the noise about the possibility of LeBron James wanting to leave the Los Angeles Lakers soon, neither he nor his agent, Rich Paul, has asked the Lakers to trade him or buy out his contract. In all likelihood, such noise is much ado about nothing.

An article in The Athletic on Wednesday indicated that James is expected to still be a member of the team once training camp starts. He may be unhappy about the team not being a true championship contender, but for several reasons, there probably aren’t any better options for him elsewhere.

In fact, Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints wrote that there is a good chance James not only re-signs with the Lakers next summer but also retires as a member of the Purple and Gold.

“The Athletic reported earlier Wednesday that LeBron and the Lakers haven’t talked about a buyout or even a trade, with the expectation ultimately being that he would be on the team to start the 2025-26 season,” Irwin wrote.

“Some sources take that a step further and posited that not only would James play out the upcoming season with the Lakers, but that he would also likely re-sign after the season with the intent to eventually retire in Los Angeles. There’s also the possibility of LeBron making 2025-26 his final season, but either way, he would be retiring as a Laker.”

As of this past season, the 40-year-old was still playing at a superstar level. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds a game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range and was named to the All-NBA Second Team during the 2024-25 campaign.

After Luka Doncic arrived in early February, James started playing above-average defense for the first time in years, presumably because he had more energy to expend due to him playing off the ball as much as he ever had.

It is generally believed that L.A. is looking to keep its books clean for the summer of 2026 or 2027, when it could perhaps land Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić as a second superstar alongside Doncic. That plan has led some to believe that the team will not make a real effort to field a championship-caliber roster in the interim.

It’s something Paul referenced in his 

cryptic statement on June 29 that sparked all this talk about James possibly wanting out.