LeBron James said he is not yet ready to decide his future with the Los Angeles Lakers following their 103-96 Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which officially knocked them out of the playoffs.
“I don’t know. I don’t have the answer to that,” James told the media during the postgame press conference via Yahoo Sports. “It’s something I’ll sit down with my family, my wife, and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens.”
“And (just to) have conversations with myself on how much longer I want to continue to play. I don’t know the answer to that right now, to be honest. We’ll see,” he concluded.
The 40-year-old forward wrapped up his seventh season with the Los Angeles Lakers and 22nd season overall. James still has a year left on his two-year, $101 million deal, though he can exercise his $52 million player option this summer.
Los Angeles Lakers suffer another early playoff exit
The Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t find answers against the Minnesota Timberwolves’ length and size in Game 5. Minnesota had a 54-37 edge in the rebounding category, as Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle combined for 50 points, with the former also notching 24 rebounds and two blocks.
Luka Doncic finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists on 7-for-18 shooting from the field and 12-for-15 from the charity stripe. LeBron James had 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals on 9-for-21 shooting. Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves added 23 and 12 in the losing effort.
The Los Angeles Lakers have work to do this summer. They must improve their roster, starting by beefing up their frontcourt.
