LeBron James expected to pick up option, unlikely to be final year in NBA

While it seems unlikely to play out the same as last offseason, LeBron James still looks set to return to the Lakers this offseason.

It appears LeBron James’ willingness to take a pay cut last offseason was a one-time offer.

Increasingly, reports indicate LeBron will not only not take less money this summer to potentially help the Lakers sign a free agent, but he will also opt into his contract for next season. The latest to relay this was Dave McMenamin of ESPN in an article on Saturday.

The only mechanism the Lakers are projected to have in free agency is the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth $5.7 million, because James is expected to pick up the final year of his contract for $52.6 million, sources told ESPN.

Last summer, LeBron shocked pretty much everyone by being open to a pay cut as the team sought to sign a free agent with the full mid-level exception. The target ended up being Klay Thompson, who eventually joined the Mavs and left the Lakers hanging.

LeBron eventually signed for less than the maximum to offer the Lakers some help staying under the second apron, but that’s where the aid stopped from him last season and, seemingly, into this season as well.

It should be noted that, certainly to LeBron, there’s probably a difference between taking a pay cut for a solidified veteran like Klay Thompson and whoever the top target would be this season, if it’s someone like Nickeil Alexander-Walker. While that’s an assumption into LeBron’s thinking, it’s something his actions are at least indicating.

What might go under the radar with that decision on his contract is that it appears this won’t be LeBron’s final season, either. McMenamin also reported that, as of now, LeBron is not approaching this season as if it’ll be his last (emphasis added).

But before his return to the court, he had been training in the weight room with his son, Lakers guard Bronny James, sources told ESPN, their first extended offseason together after last summer’s Paris Olympics. And while James has considered retirement every offseason since 2023, a source familiar with James’ thinking told ESPN that at this point, James is not entering next season with any certainty that it will be his last.

It feels highly unlikely LeBron just rides off into the sunset, so if he doesn’t announce before the season that it’ll be his last, it seems likely he’s going to play multiple more seasons.

That part could change, but for now, it seems likely that LeBron will be back next season and for at least one more season after that.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.