Windhorst: Lakers' LeBron James Retiring Would Go 'Against the Plan' He Put in Place

LeBron James made one thing clear after Monday's Game 4 loss to the Denver Nuggets: Retirement is coming sooner rather than later.

For the first time in his NBA career, James said he would contemplate retirement after the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference Finals. However, ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Tuesday that retirement would not follow the "plan" James has had in place for the end of his career.

"I'm gonna respect his words because he said them and then reiterated them to Dave McMenamin," Windhorst said on Get Up. "It goes against the plan that he and his team have put in place for the short-term future—both for next season and the year after, where he has had his contract timed out to either stay with the Lakers or potentially move teams to go play with his son. I would say that LeBron and his team's plan has been to try and go for two more years. But I think what LeBron is basically announcing at this point is this is going to be a year-by-year decision."

James concluded his postgame press conference by saying he has "a lot to think about" regarding his basketball future. He then confirmed he will consider retirement in an interview with ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, "sources close to James downplayed the notion that he would actually retire."

While playing through a foot injury at the age of 38, James led the Lakers to the conference finals and put together a jaw-dropping performance in Monday's elimination game. He finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while playing all 48 minutes in the 113-111 loss. Had he gotten a better performance from co-star Anthony Davis, the Lakers would still be alive in the playoffs.

With that said, it's clearer than ever that we're watching the twilight of James' career. His explosiveness was diminished by the foot injury that may still require offseason surgery, and the extra gear that helped propel the Lakers to the 2020 championship no longer exists.

James will have to decide whether he's willing to continue to play merely as one of the game's best players rather than the game (and league) bending to his will.

Odds are he will return for at least one more season—if not two—but the time left to appreciate James' greatness is dwindling.