The partnership between the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James has remained strong despite some lackluster seasons the past few years.
James justified his move to Los Angeles by leading the franchise to its 17th NBA Championship in 2020, but since then he and the team have struggled to replicate that level of success. However, James hasn’t given up on the 2023-24 season as he remains one of the best players in the league and the Lakers have picked things up as of late.
However, James put the NBA world into high alert after he posted an hourglass emoji that some took as him expressing his displeasure with Los Angeles. To make things even more interesting, the Golden State Warriors reportedly contacted the Lakers to gauge their interest in trading James, though they were unsuccessful.
Fans and media alike were surprised when the news broke and James revealed that he found out about the conversations when everyone else did, via NBA on TNT:
“It didn’t go far at all,” James said. “I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it. Obviously, Charles been in the league, Kenny been in the league, Shaq been in the league and there’s sometimes there’s conversations happening behind closed doors that you don’t even know about. And until, I guess, it’s real or not then they’ll bring it to you but it never even got to me so I heard it when the reports dropped as well.”
It’s hard to believe that James wasn’t consulted on a potential trade to Golden State, but he probably understands that trade talks are just a part of the business and even he isn’t immune to them. His agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports has publicly said that James is committed to Jeanie Buss and the Lakers and he is reportedly happy staying in Los Angeles.
However, James does have an out this offseason as he holds a player option for the 2024-25 season that he has yet to decide on. The most likely scenario is he picks up the option and extends for another year, but anything can happen between now and then.
Lakers to show interest in Klay Thompson this offseason
Like the Warriors, the Lakers will be one of the busiest teams this offseason as they’ll have draft picks and contracts to play around with. However, they’re also expected to chase after role players and they’re already eyeing Klay Thompson, who can hit the open market.
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