The idea of LeBron James leading the charge for this Los Angeles Lakers team [for at least one more season](https://lakeshowlife.com/new-insider-report-lakers-lebron-james-future-in-los-angeles) undoubtedly has an exciting and promising ring to it.
After all, the man has already won the franchise an NBA Championship during his tenure and is coming off yet another impressive all-around campaign where he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals on 51.3 percent shooting from the floor and 37.6 percent shooting from deep while guiding the club to the third seed out West.
However, coinciding with the positive spin of the King making his return for year number 23 is an undertone of slight pessimism, as his presence on the roster guarantees that Los Angeles will approach the upcoming offseason with an all-in mentality for 2025-26.
**Return of LeBron James all but guarantees Lakers are still all-in**
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Though it may sound a bit strange to talk down on the idea of a team eyeing a title push, even with top-billed superstars like LeBron and Luka Doncic in the mix, this past postseason proved the Lakers are still rather far away from legitimately vying for the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
On top of the fact that they were just shellacked by the Minnesota Timberwolves during their gentleman's sweep first-round exit, this aging Los Angeles squad will have to find a way to be better than the always menacing Warriors, the rising Houston Rockets, and the seemingly ready to take the leap San Antonio Spurs next season.
And this is all before even mentioning the current Western Conference champs in the OKC Thunder.
Now, considering Doncic is still only 26 years old and is expected to agree to terms on [a new multi-year pact](https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/45437085/nba-offseason-2025-sga-jokic-luka-top-extension-candidates) to remain in LA for the foreseeable future, one could realistically make the case that the Lakers are also a team that could consistently find themselves competing for ultimate glory moving forward.
The best way for them to capitalize on this would be to focus on developing their younger talents on the roster and utilize their remaining draft capital to add more promising prospects around Doncic.
Unfortunately, however, with James a virtual lock to come back next year, any youthful ballers they may have, and whatever remains of their rather shallow pool of draft picks, will likely be used in some splashy summer trade to bring on the proper assets to upgrade their roster in the now
That means Dalton Knecht will probably be offloaded this offseason (for real this time) along with the rights to swap for their 2028 first-round pick and the full rights to their 2031 first-round pick as Rob Pelinka and company attempt to give LeBron one final chance to add another ring to both his and the Lakers' already illustrious collection.
While on the one hand, such an agenda may be somewhat exciting for Los Angeles' faithful followers, especially in the immediate future, on the other, there's an argument to be made that parting ways with even more assets that could help smooth the inevitable transition of a post-LBJ era is the wrong move to make.