At a press conference on Saturday, Rob Pelinka, the Los Angeles Lakers’ general manager, announced that Luka Doncic had agreed to a contract extension. According to ESPN, the extension will last for three years and pay the superstar $165 million.
Several of Doncic’s teammates were present for the press conference, but LeBron James wasn’t. Over the last several weeks, some have speculated that he and his camp are unhappy that he isn’t the centerpiece of the franchise anymore and that it has instead started to build around the 26-year-old Doncic.
James exercised his player option for the 2025-26 season, and it is widely expected that he will start the new season as a member of the Lakers. Pelinka was asked at Saturday’s presser about the relationship between the organization and James’ camp.
“All the interactions we’ve had with LeBron and his camp, Rich [Paul] in particular, have been positive and supportive,” Pelinka said. “The dialogue with [Paul] has been open and constant.”
The executive was also asked if he thinks the 40-year-old will retire as a Laker.
“I think the number one thing we have to do there is respect he and his family’s decision in terms of how long he’s going to play,” Pelinka said. “We want to respect his ability to come up with his timetable on that. I think that’s really important. But, if he had a chance to retire a Laker, that would be great.”
When James decided to opt in to his player option on June 29, Paul issued a statement where he said the two want to “evaluate what’s best” for James moving forward. Many interpreted that portion of the statement as a prelude to a trade request, but Paul has insisted that neither he nor James has asked the Lakers for a trade.