The early offseason assumption of LeBron James easily returning to the Los Angeles Lakers is no longer happening. James has reportedly not spoken to the Lakers about a new deal in over a week, despite the franchise agreeing to a long-term deal with fellow free agent Austin Reaves. More reports are making it clear that the chances of LeBron leaving the Lakers are now higher than most pundits expected.
NBA insider Jake Fischer claimed that teams around the league now believe there’s a greater chance of James leaving the Lakers than re-signing:
“A lot of dialogue back and forth between the Lakers and LeBron. I’m not here today to report the potential landing spots that I think are actually in play here, but there is definitely a lot of belief around the league, around Los Angeles stemming out of Klutch Sports, that LeBron has so many outcomes on the table here. People believe it’s more likely than not that he leaves Los Angeles than stays with the Lakers.”
LeBron realistically considering other options to end his career will make the offseason quite interesting. The Lakers’ biggest goal is to field a contending roster around Luka Doncic for years, with or without James. Klutch Sports has made it clear that we should no longer expect the Lakers to easily keep LeBron.
Lakers Are In Extremely Difficult Position Now
The Lakers had to prioritize which names in free agency they want to keep and which talents to sign. It has become clear that the current roster won’t contend for an NBA Championship without adding new talent this offseason.
Rumored names like Trey Murphy, Jarrett Allen, and others show that they both desire a trustworthy starting center and some younger wing players who can defend. Re-signing Reaves already has put a lot of the cap space into one player, but they do have a lot left to spend.
Other Lakers free agents include Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard and Jaxson Hayes. LeBron reportedly does not want to take a huge pay cut and will require a strong contract. The Lakers might have to pick between keeping James for a retirement season or upgrading the roster to truly compete with both becoming harder to pull off together.
Which Teams Can Sign LeBron James?
The most fascinating thing about this story is that a deep market for James means there are a few mystery teams he’s considering. Everyone first mentions the Cleveland Cavaliers since they are his hometown team and allows him to contend with the NBA franchise most synonymous with him.
The Golden State Warriors have been interested in LeBron for a long time, but one would assume they need to improve the roster for him to consider them. No other teams have been strongly linked to James, outside of pundits pitching their fantasy ideas.
Contending rosters like the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder could give LeBron a chance to retire with an NBA Championship. Regardless of the teams, the market is now much tougher for the Lakers to retain the icon as easily.
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