The Los Angeles Lakers should not be looking to buy out LeBron James. They should not even be thinking about it. The reason why is pretty straightforward: it would completely derail their season and sabotage their future at the same time.
$50M buyout leaves the Lakers stuck with no flexibility
A buyout would leave over $50 million in dead money on their books, with no cap space to replace him and no meaningful return. That would be a huge step back. It would slam the brakes on the entire future operation.
Jovan Buha said on Buha's Block, “If you buy out LeBron, you now have $50 million sitting on your cap and no one or no means to replace that… It doesn’t really make sense. It doesn’t align with what they’re trying to do with the 2026 or 2027 plan.”
That right there is the bottom line. Buying out LeBron would be waving the white flag on the season before training camp even starts.
Buha added: “If you buy out LeBron, you are effectively punting on the season… you’re paying to make your team a lot worse.”
That is not what this franchise is about, especially not now. LeBron opted into the final year of his contract this summer, a move that some around the league interpreted as the beginning of a slow exit.
Since then, there has been no real indication that he is looking to leave. In fact, staying in Los Angeles makes the most sense, not only for him, but for the team.
His son, Bronny, is on the roster; the Lakers can pair him with a consensus top-five player in the league in Luka Doncic, and they have done a good job positioning themselves to stay competitive in the short term without locking themselves into bad long-term deals.
If anything were more plausible than a buyout, it would be a trade, but that is not exactly realistic either. Any team looking to acquire LeBron would have to send back a massive salary just to make the math work.
You are not trading for LeBron without giving up several rotation players or a big contract. That kind of move would likely gut any contending roster.
That is the catch. LeBron still plays at an elite level, but acquiring him is not a simple task. The Lakers, despite the noise, are not operating like a team that is ready to move on.
What makes the most sense is what is already happening: LeBron stays put. The Lakers stay competitive. The door remains open for a real run.