It’s that time of year again. No, not just the NBA conference finals, but also time to wonder what may be in store for LeBron James, who remains the face of the league.
Once again, James can become a free agent by opting out of his contract, if he so desires. The Los Angeles Lakers are banking on him not doing that.
After all, even at 40 years old, James remains one of the NBA’s best players. And even with Luka Doncic, James still may be their best chance at winning big.
Now, before we get started, know this — most around the NBA suspect James will either exercise the $52 million option on his deal, or opt out and sign a new deal with the Lakers. He almost certainly won’t leave for another team.
Of course, he could also just retire. No, really. Granted, that seems doubtful, too. But all we know right now is that James hasn’t revealed his plans. Perhaps not even to his own agent.
That would be none other than Rich Paul, who appeared on The Rich Eisen Show. During the segment, Paul said he wasn’t sure if James wants to play another season.
“I have no idea,” Paul said. “Zero.”
He was then pressed on the matter. Paul responded by saying that this is all going according to plan — and that he and James generally meet and talk about what may be next. LeBron will then take it from there.
“Normally, our process is you kinda weigh everything and see how he’s feeling and all those types of things,” Paul said. “Same process it’s been for the last I don’t know how many years.
“He’ll come around to what he’s thinking at some point and we’ll kinda go over some things and go from there.”
James suffered a knee injury during the playoffs, though again, that’s not expected to impact a decision on his future.
For the record, Paul said he believes James has a few years left in him physically.
The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year’s playoffs in five games. James averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks in the five-game series.
As for the regular season, the NBA’s oldest active player averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.0 steals in 70 games.
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