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With rumors surrounding the future of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, there is no doubt that speculation is happening in the basketball world, wondering if the player will finish his career with the team. While scenarios around the Lakers' guard in James will continue, the latest report suggests what outcome the team prefers to happen.
Marc Stein of “The Stein Line” would speak about the situation with James and Los Angeles, and how, after opting into his player option, the comments from agent Rich Paul about building for the future instead of the present have caused rumors to spread. However, Stein would say that the team's “widely presumed preferred scenario” for James is for his contract to run out after this upcoming season.
“I believe that forecast is the right one because James understands the dynamics of this league as well as any player ever has,” Stein wrote. “And I think he knows, deep down, that the threat of him leaving Lakerland next summer is no threat at all now. It was a worry for every team he played for through the first 22 seasons of his career, but the Lakers' widely presumed preferred scenario for their future is letting James' contract drop off their books after the 2025-26 season. Paul's statement upon announcing the player option decision, which is featured in full further down, essentially hints at this understanding if you read it carefully.”
More on the rumors surrounding Lakers' LeBron James
Stein's reporting somewhat aligns with ClutchPoints NBA insider Brett Siegel's assessment of the buzz surrounding the Lakers' star in James, stating that neither side has considered or discussed a trade. Like what Stein said, the team would rather have his contract fall off the books than complete a trade.
Also included in Stein's reporting is his official prediction that James will be there for Los Angeles' training camp in late September, which would mark his eighth, making it now the longest consecutive streak with any team in his career.
“I believe that, as August draws near, LeBron is going to be at his eighth Lakers training camp in a row come late September, which would represent the longest continuous stretch with one team in his Longevity GOAT career,” Stein wrote. “He has not asked for a trade this offseason, he has not asked for a buyout, he also surely knows that asking for one or the other doesn't automatically ensure that either scenario will materialize.”
It remains to be seen what happens to James and his future with the Lakers, but there is no doubt that the expectation is that he and Luka Doncic will look to lead the team and further improve after finishing 50-32, which put them third in the West. Still, the team would be disappointingly eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs.
