The 21-12 Los Angeles Lakers have looked a bit better than the sum of their parts for much of the 2025-26 season.
When LA got booted out of the first round of the 2025 playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves, its summer needs were clear. The Lakers lacked any interior defense against Timberwolves All-Star bigs Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert, and struggled to contain All-NBA shooting guard Anthony Edwards along the perimeter.
General manager Rob Pelinka responded by signing center Deandre Ayton and former three-time All-Defensive Team guard Marcus Smart over the summer. When the Lakers opted not to sign 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith to a long-term deal, he defected for the Houston Rockets. Pelinka replaced him with free agent forward Jake LaRavia, who lacks Finney-Smith’s good-not-great defense but is a more willing shooter from deep.
Even these reconstituted Lakers - led by perennial All-Stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James, plus likely future All-Star guard Austin Reaves - have felt somewhat mismatched. Los Angeles still needs a big, defensive forward, and while Ayton has been surprisingly solid, he’s not the pure athlete alongside whom Doncic thrived most in Dallas.
James, Doncic and Reaves have at times struggled to coexist, and some of the losses have been ugly - but they’re also such talented playmakers and scorers that they’ve managed to persevere in the talented Western Conference.
Although Los Angeles easily agreed to a three-year, maximum contract extension with the 26-year-old Doncic this past offseason, the Lakers did not opt to extend James.
The 41-year-old will thus be an unrestricted free agent this summer. So will the 27-year-old Reaves, who clearly is more of a priority for the club’s future than James is at this stage.
It seems quite possible that James could look to move on, should he want to play for a record-extending 24th season in 2026-27. He may need to take a pay cut from his current, expiring $52.6 million contract. He could also just call it a career, although he’s been a pretty great offensive piece even in his dotage.
The four-time league MVP has produced when he’s been healthy, averaging 20.9 points on .508/.308/.678 shooting splits, 6.5 assists and 5.1 rebounds in his 16 available bouts.
So Where Will LeBron James Go in 2026?
"For LeBron James, all roads lead back to Cleveland," writes Sam Quinn of CBS Sports. "If he took the minimum in Cleveland, it's a much easier spin than a pay cut with the Lakers. He's not being forced to sacrifice to accommodate his team's newfound direction. He's giving his hometown team a discount to try to save them after a mess of a season."
A return to the Cleveland Cavaliers would mark the Akron, Ohio native’s third stint with the franchise. He brought the Cavaliers to five titles during his heyday. Cleveland had been expected to emerge as one of the Eastern Conference’s elite contenders this year, following a 64-18 run in 2024-25.
Instead, the 20-16 Cavaliers occupy the No. 6 seed in the East, having grappled with long-term injuries to All-Star power forward Evan Mobley and wings Sam Merrill and Max Strus and inconsistent play from two-time All-Star point guard Darius Garland. Cleveland could certainly use the scoring punch of a big wing like James, although his lackluster defense could spell trouble.
James departed Cleveland, for the second time, in 2018 to join the Lakers. He’s brought LA to two Western Conference Finals and one title during his tenure with the team.
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