“He’s been traveling too many times, been to Cleveland, you know. He been to Miami, went back to Cleveland. This is his last stop, man.”
That assessment of LeBron James’ upcoming summer is from Hall of Famer Gary Payton — one of the All-Star Saturday Night Dunk Contest judges — told to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. He doesn’t believe LeBron is leaving Los Angeles, and that echoes the vibe from multiple league sources NBC Sports has spoken with in the run-up to and after the trade deadline.
The Warriors generated a lot of headlines when their co-owner Joe Lacob lobbed a call to Lakers governor Jeanie Buss before the deadline, but LeBron and his agent Rich Paul quickly shut down those talks. That’s probably what happens this summer. Nobody will shut the door entirely on a LeBron exit, especially if the Lakers were eliminated in the play-in or easily dispatched in the first round of the playoffs (both legitimately possible), but most likely, LeBron remains a Laker next season.
LeBron has a $51.4 million player option for next season, which allows him to be a free agent and control his future. It’s why you can bet the Warriors will test the waters of a LeBron trade again this summer, and they will not be alone.
What the Lakers can sell is the idea they would change around him. It’s no secret that the Lakers want to go big this offseason and are targeting difference makers on the perimeter such as Trae Young, Kyrie Irving or Donovan Mitchell (not that all of those three will be available, but someone will be). By this summer, the Lakers can trade up to three first-round picks (it was only one at the deadline), and for the right All-Star, a coveted young player in Austin Reaves becomes available. That’s an enticing package.
The Lakers know the window will not be open much longer with LeBron, who turns 40 next season, and Anthony Davis. They are all in on winning now.
The other wild card in all this is Bronny James — LeBron has said multiple times he loves the idea of playing a season (or a few seasons) with his eldest son. It’s something Sam Amick, Anthony Slater and Jovan Buha wrote about recently at The Athletic.
As long as [LeBron] still wants to be with the Lakers, which the source said was communicated to the team’s brass recently, they will want him. Other teams circling this sensitive situation in pursuit of James doesn’t change that calculus. Not only are rival executives increasingly convinced that James might want out, but they’re also focused on the Bronny James factor, which continues to loom large.
Assuming Bronny enters this year’s NBA Draft (not a lock with him coming off his heart issues last summer and making an estimated $5.9 million in NIL money at USC), the Lakers could feel pressure to draft the young James if Bronny is on the board when the Lakers pick. Whether LeBron would jump to another team to play with him depends in part on that team — he wants to contend for titles, not lose 60 games. So who drafts Bronny?
There are a lot of variables in play, and what happens in the playoffs will impact the offseason like it always does.
In the end, Payton is most likely correct. LeBron came to Los Angeles wanting this to be his final stop, which probably will be.
But LeBron’s unpredictable enough that the door to an exit remains cracked open. And that will generate a lot more headlines.
