LeBron James expected to remain with Los Angeles Lakers in NBA: Report
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LeBron James has not shown any signs of wanting to leave the Los Angeles Lakers.
PHOTO: AFP
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- LeBron James is expected to stay with the Lakers for the 2025-26 season, despite trade rumours, according to The Athletic.
- James picked up his $52.6 million option and will play his 23rd NBA season; however, Luka Doncic will be the team's focus.
- Trading James is difficult due to his high salary, and the Lakers are hesitant to take on similarly large, long-term contracts.
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LOS ANGELES – Despite an off-season of rumours and speculation, LeBron James is expected to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2025-26 season, The Athletic reported on July 16.
The Lakers and James have not engaged in talks about a trade or buyout, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) all-time leading scorer is expected to report to camp with the Lakers this fall, according to the report.
There have not been any signs, either, that he wants out.
James picked up his US$52.6 million (S$67.7 million) option in June to return for an eighth season with the Lakers. He will be returning to a team this time around on which, for the first time in his career, he is the second option.
Luka Doncic, acquired in a stunning trade from the Dallas Mavericks in February, is expected to be the centrepiece for Los Angeles in the upcoming season.
Apparently fuelling the trade or buyout rumours is a statement made by James’ long-time agent, Rich Paul, in June that included this line, “We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career”.
Trading James, given his top-tier salary, would be difficult since NBA trades must be for players with contracts of similar value due to the salary cap.
The Lakers, according to The Athletic, also are reluctant to take on a player earning in the US$50 million range if he has additional years on the contract. The Lakers will be free of James’ US$52.6 million once his contract expires at the end of the upcoming season.
James, 40, is entering his record-setting 23rd NBA season. He has played in 1,562 regular-season games and is 50 shy of breaking Hall of Fame member Robert Parish’s NBA record.
James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 70 games in 2024-25 to rank in the top 22 in each category.
He is a 21-time All-Star, four-time league Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA champion. He has scored a record 42,184 regular-season points, and 50,473 when combined with the play-offs.
James, who turns 41 in December, entered the NBA as an 18-year-old after being selected No. 1 in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He moved to the Miami Heat in 2010, back to Cleveland in 2014 and then to LA in 2018.
Elsewhere in Los Angeles, three-time NBA All-Star guard Bradley Beal has agreed to a contract buyout by the Phoenix Suns that opens the door to joining the Clippers, according to multiple reports on July 16.
The 32-year-old American was the third overall pick in the 2012 Draft by the Washington Wizards and was traded to Phoenix in 2023. But he struggled in two seasons with the Suns, setting the stage for his departure.
After clearing waivers, Beal plans to sign a two-year deal worth US$11 million with the Clippers, his agent told ESPN and the Arizona Republic newspaper, with an option for the 2026-27 campaign that could make him a top free agent in 2026.
The Suns had the NBA’s most expensive roster last season but finished 36-46 and missed the play-offs for the first time since 2020. Beal’s buyout marks the latest move to revamp the roster.
Phoenix fired Mike Budenholzer as coach in April, replacing him in June with Cleveland assistant coach Jordan Ott.
The Suns also traded star forward Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets as part of a seven-team deal earlier in July. REUTERS, AFP
