A day after the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the signing of “King” Kyle Tucker, news has broken that another crowned athlete might be nearing the end of his tenure with another of Los Angeles’ premier sports franchises.
LeBron James has played with the Lakers longer consecutively than either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Miami Heat, but it doesn’t appear he will end his NBA career as part of the purple and gold organization.
On a one-year deal with Los Angeles, the relationship between the team and James has broken down over several weeks. It was fractured even further on Thursday, when an expose by ESPN detailed that Jeanie Buss, formerly a close confidant of James’, was privately frustrated and feeling disrespected by the all-time great.
Following a tough loss to the Los Angeles Clippers later that night, a deflated, almost defeated-sounding James said it was “all good” when the article and the current situation with the Lakers were brought up to him. Although Buss is no longer the team’s owner after the family sold the team to Dodgers owner Mark Walter, she will remain as team governor to oversee the transition between the two ownership groups.
On Friday, the relationship between James and the Lakers remains frayed, as leading NBA insider Shams Charania poured gasoline on the fire with another update on the dramatic saga.
“The reality is we’re watching the end of a relationship between LeBron James and the Lakers,” Charania said on “The Pat McAfee Show” in a segment about the feud. “The end is near, however you wanna slice it."
James has a no-trade clause in his contract, but could be open to waiving it on the chance a contending team is open to possibly trading for him. The issue would be finding equally suitable contracts to bring the other way to the Lakers, with James holding a $52.6 million cap hit. Los Angeles will not want to take on any contracts past this current season, as they want to build a roster around the new face of the franchise, Luka Doncic.
The Golden State Warriors have reportedly been interested in James, but only as an offseason option. They would want to pair James with Steph Curry, creating what could be the most-watched duo in NBA history with the two legends playing their final years together.
The NBA trade deadline is on Feb. 5, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET.
Newsweek