It seems that there is plenty of tension between star forward LeBron James and the storied Los Angeles Lakers organization right now.
One anonymous NBA executive said earlier in the week that it’s “very strange” that the Lakers haven’t made an official announcement regarding James’ decision to exercise his player option for the coming 2025-26 season and that “something is definitely going on” between the two sides.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Dan Woike, “much of the tension” between James and the Lakers at this juncture stems from the notion that the Lakers want to have the financial flexibility needed to acquire a new player to play alongside the team’s face of the future, guard Luka Doncic.
“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.
The rationale for the Lakers already thinking ahead to finding a future partner for Doncic is evident, as James is already quite long in the tooth, and it remains to be seen how much longer he will stick around in the NBA. He’s the oldest active player in the league at 40 years old and has been playing in the world’s top basketball league dating back to the 2003-04 season when he kicked off his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise.
It would make a lot of sense for the Lakers to specifically look for a co-star for Doncic who plays in the frontcourt, as Los Angeles already has a young and talented starting backcourt in the fold with Doncic and Austin Reaves. Both players have holes defensively, but a strong defensive frontcourt could help to hide their shortcomings on that end.
The Lakers no longer have the hole at the center position they once did, though, as the team has inked former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton to a two-year deal, and he is projected to be a major contributor in the 2025-26 season.
James is currently a member of the Lakers after exercising his player option, but it’s possible that could change in the near future if recent reports of tension escalate into the two sides looking to go their separate ways.