LeBron James gave everything he had in the decisive Game 5, but it wasn’t enough as he and the Los Angeles Lakers were sent home after losing to the Denver Nuggets in another thriller.
James played nearly the entire game and recorded a near-triple-double of 30 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Despite his heroics, there was just too much to overcome from a Nuggets team that came up clutch when it needed to.
Now going into the offseason, the biggest question on the front office’s mind is whether or not James will re-commit to the franchise after losing in the first round. James has not given any public indication that he is looking to move and the franchise is reportedly open to doing whatever it needs to to convince him to stay, via Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic:
“The Lakers, team sources say, would be open to discussing any deal that involves James coming back — including even the maximum three-year, $164 million extension they can offer. Playing through a three-year deal would put him at 42 by the end of the contract.
‘He’s not the problem here,’ one high-ranking Lakers official said of LeBron.”
While the team seems eager to bring back James, he left his playing future up in the air:
“I just want to get home to the family,” James said after Game 5 when asked about his future. “Honestly, one of my boys is trying to decide if he’s going to enter the draft or go back to school. Another kid is playing AAU ball right now. My daughter is playing volleyball. My wife is doing so many great things. So it’s about family right now. Then, in a couple months, I got to go to Vegas for training camp. So I need to rest my body for (USA Basketball).”
“I’m not gonna answer that,” he said later when asked if he thought Game 5 might have been his last game as a Laker. “I appreciate it.”
There’s no denying that James still has something left in the tank and his agent Rich Paul thinks he can still play another two to three years at a high level. However, it remains to be seen if the remainder of his time will be in Los Angeles or somewhere else.
Michael Malone praises LeBron James’ longevity
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone holds all the respect in the world for LeBron James and even went out of his way to praise the King’s longevity during their series matchup.
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