LeBron James will go down in NBA history with his name linked to any number of signifiant “firsts.” He is the first player to score 40,000 points, and when the postseason is included, he is the first to score 50,000. This year, he became the first NBA player 40 years old or older to be named to an All-NBA team. He was already the first to make All-NBA 20 years in a row.
And so on.
But on Sunday, James added another first â at least, a first for himself. He chose to opt in to, rather than out of, the final year of his Los Angeles Lakers contract, the first time in his career that, when he had an opportunity to become a free agent, he turned it down.
James, as Athletic reporters Dan Woike and Joe Vardon noted on Sunday, can claim credit as “the godfather of NBA player empowerment, leading a movement of players seeking shorter deals with player options to maximize earning potential, maintain flexibility and apply pressure on front offices.”
But, James being James, even though he appears to have opted for certainty this time around, don’t be fooled.
James Decision to Stay in L.A. May Not Be Final
“Thanks to comments by James’ agent, Rich Paul, the decision actually created more uncertainty about the path forward for the NBA legend,” explained Sporting News correspondent Dan Treacy. “James won’t hit the free agent market like he did in 2024, but his situation appears to be more unsettled than it was a year ago.”
Paul, presumably speaking on James’ behalf, appeared to indicate that his mega-star client was not pleased with the Lakers’ current roster and “wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.â
The not-so-subtle subtext there was that the “godfather of player empowerment” is not yet willing to give up his power and may insist that the Lakers trade him to a title contender. So, if that turns out to be true (and at this point, it is admittedly just speculation), where would he go for the best chance at his fifth and, in all likelihood, final NBA title?
Bailey Bassett, a writer for Clutch Points, proposed a stunning trade idea Sunday that would be almost romantic in its irony, if it worked out, But it would be a jaw-dropper, to say the least.
Legends Pair For Last Hurrah in Trade Proposal
“James could be traded alongside his son [Bronny James] for Jimmy Butler,” Bassett proposed. “Butler fit great with the Warriors after being traded for last season, but a trade for James might be too tempting to pass up, even though Butler is the younger player. James could thrive in the do-it-all wing role that Butler found success in with the Warriors.”
Demanding a move to Golden State may seem like a betrayal of Los Angeles. The two teams finished just two games apart in the Western Conference standings last season (Lakers 50-32, Warriors 48-34), and will be in competition for playoff seeding again in the upcoming campaign. Not to mention the long-standing, sometimes friendly but often heated rivalry between the California cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
But the true master stroke of a trade that would send the well-traveled Butler to his sixth team in 16 years, is that James would be united with Stephen Curry, pairing the consensus greatest shooter of all time with James, the greatest scorer of all time and arguably the greatest player as well.
James and Curry competed for for the NBA championship in the Finals four straight years, from 2015 to 2018, when James was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Curry and the Warriors won three of those championship matchups. James and the Cavaliers took home the trophy in 2016.
Curry and James have won four titles each in their respective careers. Allowing them to go for a fifth together would certainly be NBA poetry.
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