The Los Angeles Lakers will have some work to do this offseason if they are to become true championship contenders next season. They need to re-sign guard Austin Reaves, who has emerged as a bona fide star, and they need to bring in one or two two-way players and possibly an upgrade at the center position.
The big question mark is what LeBron James will do. He will become a free agent at the conclusion of this season, and while some may have the feeling that this will end up being his final season with the Lakers, one cannot be sure what he will decide to do in a few months.
While there has been speculation that the Lakers are ready to move on from the future Hall of Famer, an ESPN article indicated that the franchise would welcome him back for yet another season.
“If James wants to play a 24th season, he would be welcomed back in L.A., sources told ESPN,” wrote Dave McMenamin.
“Pelinka declared before the start of this season that he would love it if James retired a Laker, and, sources told ESPN, that sentiment was meant to reflect a 2026 retirement or a 2027 retirement, if James intends to extend his career.”
The issue with James coming back is how it would impact L.A.’s payroll and ability to upgrade its roster. The team is expected to have roughly $50 million of cap space this summer.
“James is being paid $52.6 million this season and just played in the All-Star Game for a record-setting 22nd time. He’s averaging 22 points on 50.2% shooting, 7.1 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game. Though he did take a $2.7 million pay cut below the max on the last deal he signed with L.A. in order to help the franchise avoid the second-apron penalties, if he were to take a dramatic pay cut to re-sign with the Lakers this summer, it would be a significant departure from how he has approached negotiations throughout his career.
“And it will take a significant amount of cap space to address the holes in the current roster.”
The Lakers have always prided themselves on taking care of and catering to their superstars. They have rarely seen one leave the team voluntarily before the end of his career â Shaquille O’Neal was a glaring exception â and they would surely love for James to end his legendary career with them.
Of course, they would love it even more if James ended his career with the Lakers by winning one more NBA championship.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Report: LeBron James ‘would be welcomed back’ by Lakers next season