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It’s not too common an occurrence that we write one of these and the list is led by LeBron James, arguably the greatest player of all time. Yet here we are.
Once James opted into the final year of his contract, many thought that was that, and business would carry on as usual. But off the bat, things seemed a bit off, as right after the report about James opting in came out, his agent, Rich Paul, told the media that James wants to compete for a championship:
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is exercising his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN on Sunday. James, the NBA’s career leading scorer, wants to compete for a championship next season and potentially beyond and will be closely monitoring the Lakers’ moves and whether the team is positioning itself this offseason to field a title-contending roster. “LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career. “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
That led to Charania speculating as follows:
Are the Lakers going to make the move that puts them in position to seriously compete in that vaulted Western Conference? And then, if not, where do those conversations go that becomes a subplot of this offseason.
And just like that, the full-blown James trade speculation began.
For starters, James and the Lakers did not discuss anything beyond 2025-26 when he opted into his contract, according to a report from the New York Times.
Many around the NBA reportedly also began to wonder if a trade request might have been coming out of the James camp earlier this week:
The speculation was rampant all around the league when news of James’ decision broke, with rival executives wondering if this was a precursor to a trade request (James, remember, has a no-trade clause and could thus control any such move). Or, of course, it could be yet another attempt to apply pressure to the front office to find a way to add impactful talent. Either way, it’s becoming increasingly clear that — even if James doesn’t retire next summer — this could be his last season in a Lakers uniform.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned that this offseason has been a bit peculiar surrounding James, as this is projecting to be the first time in his career that he plays a season that’s in the final year of his contract:
“This is the first time in 23 years, he’s ever been on a contract that’s in its last year.”
@WindhorstESPN says there is “something unusual” about LeBron exercising his player option with the Lakers next season 🤔 pic.twitter.com/PmAsnnv0eW— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 30, 2025
However, Windhorst also said that he does not believe a James trade is coming due to the logistics of the matter:
Brian Windhorst: The Cavs were making trades and signing their players to contract extensions on Saturday. They did not they were not preparing to try to trade for LeBron on Sunday. And I’ve also talked to agents of players and again I’m not looking for aggregation here, but there’s a few players in the league that you could trade LeBron for in a one-for-one scenario. And I have talked to some of those agents and they in some cases talked to the teams of their players teams and they I found nothing indicating there was anything afoot here in terms of a transaction in terms of a trade. So I don’t feel as we sit here right now that that is what is coming. Tim MacMahon: I think honestly the trade is the least likely of those three scenarios.
Haynes reported more recently that Paul himself told him there have been no trade discussions surrounding James:
Haynes on LeBron:
“Rich Paul told me there has been no trade discussions, there are have been no trade talks with the Lakers, people have been speculating on certain teams that he might be interested in. I’m told that all that talk is false. There has been no extension talk” pic.twitter.com/aONgsmPSSE
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) June 30, 2025
Paul also said four teams reached out to him to discuss James’ future in L.A., but that those talks didn’t go anywhere:
Dave McMenamin: “LeBron hasn’t had any discussions with the Lakers about wanting a trade. Rich Paul said four teams contacted him in the last 24 hours wanting to talk trades, but there weren’t any substantive conversations with those teams.” “Right now, LeBron is focused on playing on a championship-caliber roster. Rich told me: ‘There are no guarantees in building one, but we know what it looks like — and what it doesn’t look like.’”
Windhorst also made sure to make note of James’ contract situation and that expiring contracts in the NBA are still viewed as potential trade assets…
After star forward LeBron James opted into his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, there remains speculation that he could push for a trade at some point during the final year of his deal. During Wednesday’s episode of First Take, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that there weren’t any major negotiations with the Lakers before James exercised his $52.6 million player option. “The Lakers and LeBron, whoever wants to spin their side of the story, I’m not sure what happened, but the Lakers and LeBron did not have substantive discussions about extending his contract, which every team that LeBron’s been on for 20-something years has wanted to have substantive conversations about extending his contract,” Windhorst said. “And what happens to expiring contracts in the NBA? They’re viewed as trade pieces.”
…so we’ll just have to wait and see where this one goes.
It is interesting, if nothing else, that James and the Lakers haven’t had contract extension talks. Maybe James views 2025-26 as his final season in the NBA? Or, maybe, he’s keeping his options open.
We’ll just have to wait to find out.
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