The biggest question for the Los Angeles Lakers going into this offseason is the future of LeBron James. The superstar is expected to opt-out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent, which will give him the option to at least explore other possibilities.
There is also the chance that LeBron chooses to retire after 21 seasons in the NBA, which would also be understandable considering the miles he has put on his body. Most believe that he will choose to return to the Lakers, but Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green isn’t 100% sure that will be the case.
On a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors star said that while he does believe LeBron will ultimately decide to remain with the Lakers, he doesn’t think it’s a foregone conclusion:
“I think the Lakers, they really gotta decide what it is that they want to do. Are you comfortable going into next season with pretty much the same supporting cast that you have? If LeBron decides to leave, what do you do then? Do you then trade AD? I think there’s a lot of uncertainty coming out of that organization. Some people think it’s foregone conclusion that Bron is going back to the Lakers. I don’t know that it’s a foregone conclusion. I think if there was something that came about that was interesting, I think he’d look at it. But ultimately I don’t quite see him leaving L.A.”
There are many ways that this could go this summer and James will definitely have some options available to him if he chooses to receive them. If LeBron is truly about competing for a championship and a team made him an offer that he felt would put him in better position to do so than the Lakers would, Green could be right in that he might strongly consider that.
The Lakers want James back in purple and gold next season and are seemingly willing to do everything in their power to make that happen, but everything is not in their hands. Green might know something the world doesn’t, but the likeliest outcome remains LeBron with the Lakers next season.
Anthony Davis willing to recruit LeBron James to return to Lakers next season
Someone else who definitely wants LeBron James back with the Lakers next year is his teammate Anthony Davis. The superstar big man made it clear that he has no problem staying in LeBron’s ear to try and convince him to stay with the purple and gold.
“Absolutely. I feel like we complement each other. We’ve done something special together,” Davis added. “The good thing about it is I’m gonna be with him all summer. So we’ll have a lot of conversations and things like that […] “If he kind of asks my opinion or whenever we talk about it, I’m obviously gonna try to recruit him back.
“But he’s old enough where he’s gonna make a decision on whatever is best for him and his family knowing that his time is limited in this league, probably a couple more years left. His goal is obviously to win and I feel like we can do that here, but ultimately it’s how he feels and what he decides.”
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