Though the majority of reactions to Luka Doncic inking a new three-year, $165 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers have been overwhelmingly positive, ESPN's Brian Windhorst recently unveiled perhaps one of the only potentially negative ripple effects from the signing.
During an August 5 edition of the Hoop Collective Podcast, the deal was unanimously heralded by all pundits featured on the episode. Tim Bontemps specifically noted that "the biggest" benefit of this new multi-year commitment is that it allows LA to go "in any direction they want now to build a championship-caliber roster around Luka."
However, while Windhorst certainly agrees that this is a luxury, he also acknowledged that one of these directions could now realistically be to "pivot away from LeBron James after this season."
Lakers may not have LeBron James as part of their plans beyond 2025-26
Throughout his seven seasons with Los Angeles, there has been ample buzz about the future Hall of Famer wanting to retire a Laker, with him even going on record a few years back saying, "That would be the plan."
It's undeniable that LeBron is still playing at an elite level and seems to have plenty of gas left in his tank.
However, considering LA is clearly looking to build for the future with their younger core of Doncic (26), Austin Reaves (27), and, hopefully, if he pans out, Deandre Ayton (27), the 40-year-old may actually only be seen as a lame duck star for the franchise heading into the 2025-26 season.
So what could this mean for LeBron?
Well, should the Lakers be invested in moving in a new direction following this upcoming campaign, and the superstar is still interested in continuing on with his playing career past year 23, barring an unexpected injury or significant drop in play, James would enter the 2026 offseason as the top free agent available on the open market.
This past year, the forward posted sensational per-game averages of 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 receiving his 21 All-Star and All-NBA nods and finishing sixth in the MVP voting.
Should he put up similar production during this coming season and head into the summer with a public desire to continue playing, there's bound to be no shortage of ball clubs vying for his services.
Whether it's making a storybook return to one of his former employers or creating a new superteam with a direct conference rival, it seems that if LeBron wishes to extend his playing career beyond 2025-26, following the extension of Doncic, it seems more likely than not that it will be outside of the Lakers organization.