The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in the midst of a tight race for playoff positioning in the Western Conference, but one of the biggest storylines surrounding the team continues to be the topic of LeBron James’ pending free agency. The Lakers star is in the final year of his contract, and one rumor that seemingly refuses to die is James potentially joining the Golden State Warriors, as per longtime NBA insider Marc Stein.
In one of the most recent columns of ‘The Stein Line,’ Stein recounts conversations around the league that suggest LeBron James leaving the lakers in free agency and signing with the Warriors is not that implausible.
“The Warriors are likewise routinely described by rival teams as one of the few credible destinations for LeBron James’ 24th NBA campaign if James and the Lakers indeed part ways after eight seasons together,” Stein writes. “‘It has some legs,’ one league source said of the LeBron’ link to the Warriors.”
The Warriors have reportedly inquired about acquiring James via trade multiple teams in the past couple of years, as per ClutchPoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel.
While James himself has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t really know what his plans are after this season when it comes to continuing his career or retiring, it’s likely that talk of his future isn’t going to die down anytime soon, especially as the season winds down.
The 23-year veteran continues to set historic marks, including recently becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in regular season games played, surpassing Robert Parrish. Earlier this year, James became the NBA’s leader in most made shot attempts, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
He’s appeared in 53 games this season at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 20.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 51.2 percent shooting from the field, 31.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 74.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
