NBA Execs Break Down LeBron James' Lakers Future, 'Rational Paths' for End of Career
Even though LeBron James has not given an official timeline for the end of his legendary NBA career, people within the league have started to think about what his next steps could be with his Los Angeles Lakers contract set to expire after this season.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, NBA executives have come up with three "rational paths" for James to take next summer.
They include taking a discounted deal to remain with the Lakers, looking for another team to sign with in free agency or retirement.
James has taken deals for less than the max in his career, but he has never given teams a huge discount. His most recent two-year, $101.4 million contract with the Lakers, for example, was only $2.7 million less than what he could have gotten.
His agent, Rich Paul, said before the start of free agency in 2024 that James would be willing to take a pay cut if the Lakers were able to sign an impact veteran playmaker, like James Harden or Klay Thompson.
It marked the first time since his original contract with the Miami Heat in 2010 that James didn't sign a max contract.
As far as potentially signing with another team next summer, the Brooklyn Nets are the only team currently projected to have cap space. Many things can change over the next six months, to say nothing of how many NBA governors would probably do a lot to sign James if they had the chance because of the marketing boost it would provide the organization due to his name recognition.
One potential issue with this path is James has shown no inclination toward wanting to play elsewhere since originally signing with the Lakers in the summer of 2018, though he has acknowledged that decision may not be left up to him because of how the business side of the NBA works.
Windhorst did quote one NBA head coach who said James is still capable of playing at a high level if he wants to keep playing beyond this season: "LeBron is still averaging 20 points and shooting 50%. He can help a team win. You just have to find the right situation."
There was a period when it seemed like the Lakers would acquiesce to whatever James wanted to do to end his career, similar to how things played out over Kobe Bryant's final years, but their direction changed dramatically in February when they acquired Luka Dončić to set up their long-term future.
James, who turned 41 on Dec. 30, has not laid out any specific retirement plans. He did acknowledge at the start of training camp that the end of his career is coming "a lot sooner than later," but there is no indication when he will hang up his basketball shoes.
The Lakers have cooled off after a strong start to the season, but they are still fifth in the Western Conference entering play on Friday. They have lost six of their last 11 games following a 15-5 start.
After missing the first 14 games of the season due to sciatica, James made his debut on Nov. 18. He is averaging 20.3 points and 6.5 assists per game in 15 starts.
