The quiet whisper in the background for the Los Angeles Lakers has revolved around LeBron James of late. Is the all-time great still settled and comfortable in Hollywood?
LeBron has spent seven seasons with the Lakers now. If James were to return to the team next year after either picking up his player option or signing a new deal after opting out, there would be a bit of history taking place involving the all-time great.
James' incredible career has involved stops in Cleveland, Miami, and Los Angeles. If the 21-time All-Star plays an eighth straight season with the Lakers in 2025-26, that would be the most consecutive campaigns spent with one franchise during his storied NBA journey.
Most signs are pointing towards that being the likely outcome. However, there is still a belief that not everything is set in stone.
James, Lakers are a marriage of convenience
Sam Amick recently joined Real Ones on The Ringer to speak about the future in Los Angeles. The Athletic's NBA insider was asked to share his thoughts on James and the Lakers moving forward.
"Yes, I think he's going to be back," Amick stated. "Near the tail end of the season, in the early part of the Lakers offseason, I did hear a few things that made me go, 'Huh, okay,' in terms of how LeBron was feeling."
The insider went onto highlight James' joke at the exit interviews about the needs regarding the roster construction of the team. While most laughed at a comedic moment, Amick thought there was more to it.
The NBA insider described it as 'packaging authenticity with humor.' Amick continued to explain that his belief was that James had 'real frustrations' about the roster and that continues to be the case.
However, the prevailing thought continued to be that all of this will not be enough to make LeBron leave Los Angeles. The final input that Amick offered on the situation was describing the union between James and the Lakers as a 'marriage of convenience.'
"It's just fine, as opposed to great," Amick noted on the relationship between the two parties.
There is some discomfort to be found in the above sentiment from such a closely-connected source. However, the comfort with the idea of James staying put still comes from analyzing whether there is a more convenient marriage out there for him in his latter years.
The answer to that question pretty confidently suggests there isn't. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and even the Cleveland Cavaliers, have all been floated as potential destinations for the NBA legend. Most of those feel like a stretch when it comes to their true viability.
The potential to build up the roster around Doncic and James is there for Rob Pelinka this offseason. A handful of calculated decisions should pave the way for putting this tiresome conversation to bed.
