LeBron James Rumors: Lakers Star Undecided on Contract Option Ahead of 2024 NBA FA

Even though there has been an expectation LeBron James will opt out of his current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, the 20-time All-Star is still keeping his options open with his $51.4 million salary for next season.

Per The Athletic's Jovan Buha and Shams Charania, "the opt-in and opt-out routes are both on the table" for James at this point.

Following the Lakers' season-ending loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 of the Western Conference playoffs, ESPN's Brian Windhorst said on the April 30 episode of Get Up he believes James intends to opt out and become a free agent.

NBA insider Marc Stein has said "all signals" point to James remaining with the Lakers, but it's unclear what the structure of his next deal will look like at this point.

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, James will be eligible to sign a three-year, $162 million contract with the Lakers if he does opt out of his current deal. That would be the richest contract of his NBA career, surpassing the $153.3 million deal he signed with the Lakers in July 2018.

Even though James has spoken in the past about wanting to play in the NBA with his son, Bronny James, his decision about whether or not to stay with the Lakers won't necessarily depend on which team drafts Bronny.

James was open throughout the season that he doesn't have a lot of time left in the NBA, but he's never specified how much longer he sees himself playing.

The four-time NBA MVP was already the oldest active player in the league this season. He will turn 40 on Dec. 30.

Despite his age, James is still playing at an extremely high level. He averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game in 71 starts this season. This marked the first time that James appeared in at least 65 games in a season since 2019-20 (67).

Since winning an NBA title during the 2019-20 season, James and the Lakers have lost in the first round of the playoffs twice and missed the postseason in 2021-22. They advanced to the Western Conference Finals last season before being swept by the Nuggets.