The marriage between the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James may be coming to an end. James decided to opt into his contract for this season, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be playing with the team past 2025-26.
There are rumors that he’s not in a great place with the front office, and he hasn’t committed to Los Angeles this offseason. He may not be thrilled with the fact that the Lakers have been so quick to pivot to building around Luka Doncic, and he’s becoming more of an afterthought.
James has never been an afterthought on any team he’s been on, but at this stage in his career, it’ll be difficult for him to be the best player on any team competing for a championship.
There’s been no word on James requesting a trade or anything like that, but he does seem to be pulling away from the Lakers. The big free agent signing the team made this offseason was adding center and former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton.
According to Ayton, he’s already been talking to Doncic, but has yet to hear from James since signing the deal.
“Not really yet,” Ayton said when asked if he’s spoken to James since signing on ESPN. “But I definitely got a text from Luka. I know how the offseason goes — this isn’t my first rodeo. People are probably busy training and spending time with their families.”
James hasn’t been known to react to player signings since joining the Lakers, but it seems notable that he hasn’t at least reached out to Ayton. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s got one foot out the door, but it will only fuel the speculation that he’ll be looking to move.
Ayton Thinks He’d Be Good Fit With James & Doncic
Ayton didn’t sound offended that he hadn’t heard from James. As he noted, a lot of players have busy lives in the offseason. James is known to keep very busy in the offseason, so perhaps he just hasn’t had the chance.
For his part, Ayton is hoping to get a chance to play with both Doncic and James.
“They both average about nine assists over their career span,” Ayton said. “The type of players they create with their teammates, they turn them into superstars. They make them bigger than their roles and make them very important on the floor as well. Just seeing that and finally getting the chance to go in and experience that would be big for me, and it’ll just get me back to my full form, how I used to play.”
Will Lakers Move on From James Before the Season?
If James definitively wanted out of Los Angeles, he could’ve simply opted out of his contract. He would’ve been able to choose his team in that scenario.
He can’t hold the Lakers’ feet to the fire that much with that in mind. However, Los Angeles may want to rip off the band-aid. It seems highly unlikely that James will re-sign with the team next offseason.
The Lakers may as well start building around Doncic now and try to get some assets for James before he walks in free agency next year.
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