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LeBron James is going to have trouble leaving Los Angeles if he wants the Lakers to trade him. Over the weekend, James opted into the final year of his contract, which is worth $52.8 million.
After opting in, James’ agent and business partner, Rich Paul, released a statement to ESPN imploring the Lakers to make roster moves and not waste LeBron’s final years.
“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.”
While LeBron appears to be putting pressure on the Lakers, he doesn’t have much leverage due to his large contract.
According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, there’s no trade market for LeBron.
“To be sensitive to LeBron, who’s considered one of the greatest of all time, there isn’t,” Marks said. “He’s making $53 million, he’s in the last year of his contract. He’s 40 years old and I talked to numerous teams yesterday and asked that same question: would you give up basically the farm—basically you would have to give up four or five players to go get LeBron James for one year—and the unanimous answer was no, they wouldn’t.”
.@BobbyMarks42 says “there isn’t” a trade market for LeBron James 😯 pic.twitter.com/aMLV1WNbNy
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 30, 2025
It’s probably the first time in LeBron’s career that there isn’t a viable trade market for him in the NBA.