The question that will loom over the Los Angeles Lakers as they navigate how to work with the roster they have and see if it is possible to mold a championship contender with the pieces that are in place is an obvious one: Will they be going forward with LeBron James in purple-and-gold, or not? James is 41 years old, but still played like one of the top 15 or 20 players in the league last year, posting averages of 20.9 points (26th in the NBA), 6.1 rebounds (47th) and 7.2 assists (seventh).
He willingly, and effectively, slid into a No. 3 option role in 2025-26, seeking to accentuate the talents of younger fellow stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
When the Lakers’ season ended in a sweep at the hands of the Thunder this week, James said he was not sure what would happen next–he is a free agent this summer, and could simply decide to retire. As he said: “I don’t know. Obviously it’s still fresh from losing. I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds for me obviously as it stands right now, tonight.”
Lakers Corporate Changes Should Speed up LeBron James Decision
And certainly, James has earned the right to take some time on his decision to come back or retire. But for the Lakers, who are looking at some major possible changes this offseason, that length of time can’t be too long.
That’s the view from Hall of Fame Lakers forward James Worthy, who pointed out that the Lakers have changed now that ownership has passed from the Buss family to Dodgers owner Mark Walter. Despite the fact that the Lakers are a powerhouse brand, they’ve always been a seat-of-the-pants operation under the Busses. Now, it’s about to get more corporate, with more offices and more bureaucracy being added.
Jerry Buss would have let James drag out a decision. Walter and the new Lakers regime won’t.
Lakers Not a ‘Mom-and-Pop’
Speaking on “The Dan Patrick Show” this week, Worthy explained that James was going to need to give the Lakers his plans in short order.
He said: “It’s been a couple days, a few days. I would hope that they are discussing those possibilities right now. With the new ownership and the new personnel that’s coming in in the front office, it’s not necessarily the mom-and-pop culture we’re used to. I think they’re going to be demanding a decision. And so that’s yet to be seen but I would think that in the next couple of weeks they would want to know, Hey look, what are your options? You’re 41 years old, what do you want to do? And go from there.”
LeBron James Options: Stay or Go
James’ options are fairly limited, whether he comes back to the Lakers or not. His decision tree looks something like:
Retire. Call it a career after 23 years.
Return to the Lakers on a market salary (around $35-$40 million per year). That would likely be a 1-plus-1 contract, meaning it goes for two years but with a player option in Year 2.
Return to the Lakers on a bargain salary. This is what fans would hope for. The Lakers could sign James to a small contract exception, maybe in the $5-10 million range, and still have money to add an upgrade elsewhere on the roster. James, though, probably will not take a massive pay cut.
Go elsewhere on a sign-and-trade. This would most likely be Cleveland–it’s hard to imagine James wanting to land on a new contending team to chase a ring, in New York or Boston or even Golden State.
Go elsewhere on a bargain contract. This would give James his best chance at getting back to the Finals, sliding onto someone’s roster for, say, the bi-annual exception worth about $5.5 million. Big problem, though: If James does not want to play on a bargain deal for the Lakers, he probably won’t want to do it elsewhere, either.
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