Many feel that LeBron James may want to leave the Los Angeles Lakers sometime this offseason before training camp begins. That sentiment stems from a cryptic statement his agent, Rich Paul, gave on June 29 when he decided to exercise the player option on his contract for this coming season.
The question seems to be why Paul made that statement, which said, in part, that James’ camp wants to “evaluate what’s best” for the superstar “at this stage in his life and career.” Some have speculated that James is upset that the organization is now catering to Luka Doncic and not him, while others feel it is simply a matter of the team’s roster not being completely championship-caliber.
According to Lakers beat writer Dan Woike of The Athletic, the tension between the two sides stems from the team’s reported plan not to commit to any salary in order to have lots of salary cap space starting next summer. That way, it can go out and find a second superstar to pair with Luka Doncic (h/t Lakers Daily).
“Much of the tension appears to stem from the Lakers’ desire to keep their salary-cap sheet as clear as possible starting next summer, allowing them to find Luka Doncic’s future partner either in free agency or via trade, when they’ll have access to use first-round picks in 2026, 2031 and 2033 for a single trade,” Woike wrote.
This plan may have led some to believe that the Lakers are essentially looking to phase out James and nudge him out the door next offseason.
However, having enough cap space to land a second superstar next summer or during the summer of 2027 and making another move or two to field a championship-caliber roster for this coming season aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. With James, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and Jaxson Hayes all slated to become free agents next summer, not to mention Austin Reaves’ ability to opt out of his contract, L.A. could have a massive amount of cap space once next offseason starts.
That means it could possibly take on some salary this summer in the form of at least one young player who could become part of a Doncic-centric core over the next few years.