LeBron's Lakers Status Feels 'Crunchy and Dicey,' Says Insider amid NBA Trade Rumors

At least for now, the relationship between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers may not be in an ideal place after he picked up his player option, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.

Amick said Wednesday on The Ric Eisen Show that "it does feel a little crunchy and dicey at the moment (via HoopsHype).

The NBA insider echoed his previous reporting about the Lakers and James not having any discussions about a long-term contract before he opted in. He said Wednesday that Los Angeles might've hoped the 21-time All-Star would signal his impending retirement, thus allowing himself to have a farewell tour like Kobe Bryant in 2015-16.

Instead, LeBron has said nothing to hint he intends to only play for one more season, while his agent seemed to imply the future Hall of Famer could try to seek an exit from Southern California. Rich Paul told ESPN's Shams Charania that James was "wants to compete for a championship next season and potentially beyond and will be closely monitoring the Lakers' moves and whether the team is positioning itself this offseason to field a title-contending roster."

Paul quickly clarified to NBA insider Chris Haynes that neither LeBron nor Los Angeles has discussed a trade at any level.

Informed observers had already pointed out that a trade is unlikely for a number of factors. ESPN's Bobby Marks bluntly said Monday on Get Up the Lakers star has a limited market.

"And I talked to numerous teams yesterday and asked that same question, would you give up basically the farm, basically you'd have to give up four or five players to go get LeBron James for one year?" Marks explained. "And the unanimous answer was no, they wouldn't."

It's difficult enough to match James' $52.6 million salary or at least get close enough to be cap compliant in a deal. Aggregating the salaries for multiple players is even riskier in this case because a general manager would be sacrificing a lot of depth for a player who's 40 and possibly only another year or two away from retiring.

The Lakers certainly aren't hitting the reset button. When Luka Dončić can opt out next summer, general manager Rob Pelinka needs to assemble a roster that can challenge for the top four in the West and make a deep playoff run.

From that standpoint, the goals of James and the organization are aligned. However, the aging star might begin to get a bit disenchanted if he believes Los Angeles is starting to operate with Dončić's timeline rather than his in mind.