At the start of the 2025 free agency, there were talks about what would happen with LeBron James. The Los Angeles Lakers star was rumored to switch teams in hopes of contending for his fifth NBA championship. James still wants to win another title before he retires, and the Lakers might not be the team that would allow him to be competitive. The two most notable additions to the team’s roster during the summer were Marcus Smart and Deandre Ayton.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith went as far as to urge James to request a trade and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Smith, the Cavaliers had a better shot at contending for the chip than the Lakers. After all, they snatched the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference last season.
However, the trade rumors regarding James were shut down by NBA insider Jared Greenberg. He talked about it during his recent appearance at ” The Good World with Goodwill.” According to him, the four-time champion had the option to leave the Lakers either as a free agent or request a trade from the front office.
However, James exercised his $52.6 million player option to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“LeBron had the opportunity this summer to be a free agent and sign wherever he wanted… He didn’t want to sign for the minimum, he did not want to give away his no-trade clause. … Don’t then be confused as to why he’s still a Laker,” Greenberg said.
James will play his 23rd NBA season with the Lakers. Although he hasn’t commented on a potential retirement, not signing a new contract extension could hint at his retiring from basketball.
The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly wanted Kawhi Leonard on the team
In 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers had the option to sign All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. He was fresh off a championship win with the Toronto Raptors and his value was rising. However, the organization settled with James, which was a smart move. His addition to the team led to them acquiring Anthony Davis the following summer and winning the 2020 championship.
Leonard and the Clippers, though, have only reached the conference finals once. NBA insider Pablo Torre revealed that the Lakers wanted to sign the two-way star.
“The Lakers wanted Kawhi badly,” the NBA exec said. “Boy, they dodged a massive bullet by not landing him. You think Rich [Paul] and LeBron are hard to deal with? Uncle Dennis (Dennis Robertson) is even worse. He thinks Kawhi is the second coming of Jesus.”
For the Clippers, Leonard’s history of enduring numerous ailments has not been good. He’s only appeared in 266 games for LA, while James has suited up for 419 games.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
