New LeBron James Rumors on Lakers Contract Talks as Warriors Eye Anthony Davis Reunion

The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James haven't made much progress on a new contract with the free-agency negotiating window opening Tuesday.

At the 39:30 mark of the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported the Lakers told Rich Paul, James' agent, they want the 22-time All-Star back. That's the extent of the dialogue so far.

"But there have been no further talks," Windhorst said. "And from what I understand, the Lakers have not made an offer. But LeBron, from what I understand as of today when I got this update, LeBron has not made himself available to meet with the Lakers yet."

This comes a day after Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor reported the Golden State Warriors are exploring an audacious reunion of James and Anthony Davis in the Bay Area.

The Stein Line's Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported Sunday that Golden State's offer for James "is expected to top out at midlevel money range ($15 million)."

That would be a steep pay cut — LeBron made $52.6 million in 2025-26 — for a player who doesn't take pay cuts, but he probably can't expect to get much elsewhere. Teams that can realistically contend right now aren't flush with salary cap space.

It's entirely possible James leaves Los Angeles.

At 41 years old, his perspective on what he wants at this stage of his career may have evolved. For the first time, he's also not front and center for how the front office is building the roster. That distinction belongs to Luka Dončić.

Still, one can't look past the fact that LeBron could've bolted L.A. at numerous points in the past — when the Lakers were arguably in a worse position — and turned them down.

And with the Warriors in particular, they could've seemingly made a stronger sales pitch to James ahead of the 2024 deadline, when Stephen Curry and Draymond were a few years younger. They struck out back then.

Over the last few seasons, winning another championship didn't appear to be the overriding priority for the surefire Hall of Famer in the same way it had during his tenure with the Miami Heat and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James had a growing business empire, which is easier to manage in L.A., and then he didn't hide his desire to team up with son Bronny.

Perhaps he has finally reached a point where he's ready to embrace a change of scenery. The absence of serious conversations between he and the Lakers could be telling in that regard.