LeBron James made it clear through his agent, Rich Paul, that he had no intention of leaving the Lakers through last Thursday’s trade deadline. Despite this, a couple of teams reached out to see whether they could acquire the 20-time All-Star from Los Angeles.
Golden State Warriors governor Joe Lacob, with the encouragement of Warriors forward Draymond Green, reached out to the Lakers about acquiring James. Lakers Governor Jeanie Buss and GM Rob Pelinka reiterated that they wanted to keep James and had no desire to trade him. However, Buss instructed Lacob to reach out to Paul for clarity on James’ desires.
The positive news for the Lakers is that not only did Paul inform Lacob and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. that James had no interest in a trade, but he also expressed his client’s focus on returning to the Lakers in the offseason.
This all began after James’ mysterious social media post after the Lakers’ Jan. 30 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, putting the Lakers at 24-25 on the season. Despite this apparent display of discontentment, James declined to clarify the meaning behind the post.
As he has a $51.4 million player option with the Lakers for the 2024-25 season, the trade deadline was a prime opportunity to inquire about James’ availability. However, James seems committed to the Lakers. If he returns, he is likely to decline his option and re-sign on a new deal that would allow him an annual raise.
The Lakers are currently 29-26, in ninth place in the Western Conference. Tuesday’s victory against the Detroit Pistons was their fifth win in the last six games. Undoubtedly, many teams will be looking to see where James stands should circumstances change.
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