LeBron James SHOCK: The reason the “king” is about to leave the Lakers shocked the entire basketball world

Hello everyone and welcome to my first mailbag here at my new home, The Athletic. As the grandson of a letter carrier (fun fact) and as someone who attended every Los Angeles Lakers game a season ago, I’m uniquely qualified for this very assignment.

I sent the signal out on social media for your questions, and I’m going to do my best to answer as many of them as possible, with neither rain, nor sleet, nor Eric Snow stopping me from delivering the answers.

(Questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.)

What is the main change you believe the new majority owner of the Lakers will bring compared to the previous owner? —@afamosajems

A few of you asked questions about something that feels like way too much of an afterthought considering the impact it could eventually have on the organization. A few things first. The general sense I’ve gotten from talking to my sources within the organization is that things are basically “business as usual” currently. But no one who has paid any attention to the behemoth the Los Angeles Dodgers have become can realistically think that Mark Walter is going to just let the Lakers move forward powered solely by inertia.

One thing that fans should know — modernization efforts began prior to the sale with the Lakers further investing in things like analytics and medical staffing. But there was, to some extent, a budget. With deeper-pocketed ownership, it’s reasonable to expect the Lakers will be able to take more risks in the ways they spend on non-salary cap matters.

A common critique of the Lakers is that they get the big stuff right and the small stuff much less right. Resources, if deployed, should help the hit rights go up. It won’t solve everything — plenty of wealthy teams still make mistakes with minimum contracts and second-round picks — but the extra cash should help once the sale closes. But the process for things like the hiring of new strength coach Jeremy Holsopple started before the team’s sale became public.

Will this be LeBron James’ last year with the Lakers? Is the Lakers roster built to contend deep in the playoffs? — @mattyicefalcon

Also, do you think LeBron will retire as a Laker? — @lakeshow4ever8

Yeah, OK so let’s get to this. I write this with the explicit instruction to readers that I believe that very few people know what LeBron James is thinking when it comes to his future, and that at his age, figuring out how to get ready for the NBA season in front of him requires enough physical and mental energy to keep him from dwelling on questions about his career mortality.

Here are the things we know: James has one year left on his contract with the Lakers for max-ish money (he took a slight discount last summer). He has a no-trade clause. He opted into his deal to be with the team. I think there are still questions that need to be answered about the ways he and Luka Dončić look as co-stars on a championship team, questions that are probably big enough to not want to tie yourself to any one significant decision for next summer. It’s also, undoubtedly, a strange position to take one of the NBA’s all-time leading scorers, a player still performing at an All-NBA level, and have him on an expiring deal.

All indications are that James will be in training camp at the end of September and will play his 23rd NBA season with the Lakers. But I really don’t want to make any guesses, informed or not, about how James views his future, either as a Laker or as an NBA player.

Again, all I know is that when faced with chances to play for teams other than the Lakers, James has chosen to stay in purple and gold each time.

If you had to listen to one song every day for the rest of your life, what record would you pick? — @ECreates88

I love this because it’s not my favorite song, but basically one I could never get sick of.

The quick-look-through-my-playlist contenders: Neil Young “Harvest Moon,” Tom Petty “Wildflowers,” Talking Heads “This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody),” Father John Misty “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools Of Us All,” Curtis Mayfield “Movin’ On Up,” Spoon “The Underdog,” A Tribe Called Quest “Electric Relaxation,” Beastie Boys “Shake Your Rump,” Modest Mouse “Missed the Boat,” Wednesday “Chosen to Deserve,” Parquet Courts “Tenderness” and MJ Lenderman “She’s Leaving You.”

But ultimately, if I had to listen to one song every day, I’d want it to be a song that made me as happy as possible, as quickly as possible. And I don’t think any song makes me happier faster than “American Girl” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

How realistic is a Matisse Thybulle/Robert Williams III deal for the Lakers by the deadline? And in the scenario that both Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokić wanted to come to the Lakers next summer, which player would LA rather go after? — @RyanLucas_LA

Let’s just tackle the first question here. I have a hard time believing a team that’s so close to the first apron that it can’t currently sign a free agent would gamble on not one, but two guys that have no track record of availability. As far as the second part goes, I think the organization would reconsider its stance on the viability of three max players. (If I had to pick, it’d be Jokić.)

Realistically, is it a long shot to consider Giannis or Jokić in 2027? Or do you think the Lakers have any considerable assets to possibly trade for Giannis? — @afamosajems

Do I think either is realistic as a trade target? No, not really. The market would need to be way suppressed by a player saying they would simply walk to the Lakers in free agency so 28 other teams shouldn’t even consider bidding, and still the Lakers’ offer would be thin. Now, 2027 in free agency, should either Giannis or Jokić make it there, could be interesting, especially if Dončić has the kind of season the Lakers expect out of him.

Could Nikola Jokić and Luka Dončić team up on the Lakers? (Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)

What do you think is the biggest roster hole going into the season? I kind of like the roster makeup right now with the exception of backup big man/rim protector. — ‪@bdonedone.bsky.social‬

Do you think this is the roster going into training camp? — @LakeShowJoe_

Dan, do you think there’s any chance LAL will make a minor trade with Maxi Kleber’s or Gabe Vincent’s expiring contracts before the start of the season? And if that happens and creates flexibility, could you see them adding Kevin Love as a veteran voice alongside LeBron in the locker room? — @Los_LakersBR

I don’t think another move is coming for the Lakers before the season starts, and really, it’s just a simple cost-benefit analysis of making one. The Lakers have two tradable draft picks as of now, one first, one second and some low-value swaps because, well, any team with Dončić on it has a pretty high floor. To create a roster spot to sign a remaining free agent, you’re spending at least one second and losing a veteran who you believe to some degree can help (or who can make as big of a difference compared to whatever player is still uncommitted here in August). As far as trades go, while talks could pick back up as training camp gets closer, I believe it’s way more likely that the Lakers would rather look at the roster that they’ve built, assess the strengths and weaknesses and try to improve during the season than use any of their limited draft arsenal to get a deal done now.

Are you hearing anything about the expected rotation role of Adou Thiero? Was he drafted to be developed or to play right away, as the roster needs athleticism? With Dalton Knecht, did his summer-league performance affect the team’s expectations and role for this year? —@prettytile

There were definitely some eyebrows raised around the NBA when Thiero missed summer league with a knee issue, but I can finally offer a little optimism (we’re 1,000 or so words in so I probably should). I’ve been told Thiero has been working out in the Lakers’ facility and is expected to be participating once training camp opens at the end of September. As far as his role? It’s gonna be crowded. But it’s sort of a universal truth in the NBA. If young players want to get on the court, you do it by making an impact on the defensive end. And Thiero has the tools to make an impact on the defensive end.

I won’t go too in-depth on Knecht, other than to say that I think NBA evaluators haven’t put much stock into his summer-league performance.

Who is your favorite Laker of all time? — @theJayAquino

Fun question! Never had one. I didn’t grow up in Los Angeles, but my dad once took me to a sporting goods store in Chicago for a James Worthy New Balance signing. One of the first names in the NBA I remember knowing is Sedale Threatt. But let’s go with Jason Kapono, who once had my favorite NBA quote about his fading draft stock: “I should have left UCLA after my freshman year, moved to Yugoslavia and changed my name to Jason Kaponovich. I’d have been a first-round pick.”

What is going to happen to Rui Hachimura after his current contract? — @methmatthewman

Another great question and another very underrated subplot of this Lakers season. Hachimura, to me, represents a lot about what the Lakers have done right in terms of ID’ing an undervalued player and molding him into a useful piece while also showcasing some of their weaknesses. (Were they really bidding against anyone when Hachimura was a restricted free agent in 2023?) And he does a lot of the stuff that should shine alongside Dončić.

Another good season and you could argue that he should be with the Lakers for another multi-year stint, even if it eats into some of their future flexibility. But if the defensive gains weren’t real and the shooting suffers (it’s been two full seasons of being really good), keeping the books clean becomes the better option.

Fascinating season incoming following a fascinating offseason.

(Photo: Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)