LeBron James has been a member of the Los Angeles Lakers since 2018, winning a championship with the storied organization in 2020.
However, the former Cleveland Cavaliers star hasn’t enjoyed the same level of postseason success in recent years and has bumped heads with the Lakers on several occasions.
On Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania provided an update on the 40-year-old’s NBA future, and his report isn’t good news for the Lakers.
"We still don't know where LeBron James is going to be," Charania said on the Flagrant podcast. "Is he going to finish his career with the Lakers, or is he going to be somewhere else? I think it's very much up in the air.”
"I'm not sure that he knows exactly how the end is going to play out. Could it be with the Lakers? Sure. But he's a free agent at the end of the season. So, if he's going to continue to play, there's clearly a chance he's somewhere else potentially. But again, he could stay with the Lakers."
With Los Angeles moving toward a Luka Doncic-led future, it isn’t a good sign that Charania believes there’s even a chance that James could compete with the Lakers beyond the 2025-26 season.
From not inviting James to a pivotal offseason dinner with Doncic, JJ Redick, and Rob Pelinka to failing to provide James with a heads-up regarding the franchise’s historic $10 billion sale, it’s clear as day that Los Angeles would love to move on from the four-time NBA champion sooner rather than later.
However, with Charania suggesting that James, who’s set to be a free agent next summer, could remain with the organization he signed with seven years ago, the Lakers may not be able to hand Doncic the keys just yet.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out for James after his 23rd NBA season (he hasn't appeared in a game this year yet due to sciatica).
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