The Los Angeles Lakers are willing to accept only expiring contracts in a potential LeBron James trade, according to The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
Appearing on The Ringer’s “Zach Lowe Show,” Woike explained why the Lakers had no intention to acquire any contracts that extend beyond the 2025-26 season, in large part due to their plan to keep their salary sheet clear for 2026 and 2027 when several superstar names could become free agents.
“The Lakers don’t want to take on money beyond this season,” Woike said on July 14. “LeBron James himself is on an expiring contract — that is their preference. They don’t want to turn that expiring contract into longer-term money.
“Who is $54 million of expiring money that the Lakers can take on [for James]? Where is that?”
LeBron James Refuses to Address Rumors
Woike, who attended the Lakers’ Summer League games, previously reported that James sat next to his Purple & Gold teammates and the coaching staff, and did not give any indication of wanting to play elsewhere in the 2025-26 season.
“If there was any hostility between the organization and James, it never showed up in any obvious ways,” Woike wrote on July 13. “He arrived with his wife, Savannah, daughter, Zhuri, and a group of his closest friends. James arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday morning after attending a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico on Friday night.
“James sat near Lakers assistant Greg St. Jean for most of the third quarter. Earlier, he spoke with other members of the coaching staff in attendance, a group that included assistants Nate McMillan and Bob Beyer, and teammate Dalton Knecht, who didn’t dress after playing in four games with the summer league team over the past four weeks.”
That said, the veteran forward refused to address rumors of a potential trade in a chat with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Lakers Priority Is Luka Doncic
“I ain’t got nothing to talk about,” James told McMenamin at the Summer League.
The chatter of a potential LeBron James trade picked up steam after Rich Paul said his agent was focused on winning a championship in 2025-26.
“We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career,” Paul said in a statement, hitting at James’ potential departure from Los Angeles. “He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
According to multiple insiders, the Lakers are prioritizing signing Slovenian star guard Luka Doncic over a potential LeBron James trade. Doncic, who has a player option for 2026-267, could become a free agent in 2026, a situation the Lakers want to avoid.
“Doncic can add four more years and $223 million, and the Lakers will assuredly offer exactly that, but he might prefer a three-year $160 million deal instead because it sets up better for future contracts,” reported ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
“The Lakers will gladly accept either, though they might have to be patient; Doncic is playing for the Slovenian national team this summer in high-intensity EuroBasket, which runs through mid-September, and his NBA contract business might wait until then.”
The Lakers signed center DeAndre Ayton and Jake LaRavia in the 2025 offseason, but are not done making moves. The franchise is reportedly seeking trades for perimeter-oriented defenders and 3-and-D players, specifically via trades.
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