{"id":609417,"date":"2026-02-18T08:17:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/609417\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:17:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T08:17:23","slug":"lakers-keep-the-door-open-for-lebron-james-despite-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/609417\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Keep the Door Open for LeBron James Despite Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the NBA season winds toward its conclusion, one of the league\u2019s biggest unanswered questions centers on what comes next for LeBron James.<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old superstar made it clear during All-Star weekend that he has not yet decided on his future beyond this season, leaving every option on the table, a return to the Los Angeles Lakers, a move elsewhere, or retirement.<\/p>\n

James is set to become a free agent this offseason, and the organization has positioned itself to remain flexible depending on his choice.<\/p>\n

The Lakers deliberately avoided taking on long-term salary at the trade deadline, a move designed to preserve cap space and roster flexibility for the coming summers.<\/p>\n

That approach signals that the front office, led by Rob Pelinka, is ready for multiple outcomes.<\/p>\n

Should James re-sign this July, Los Angeles would still be well positioned to reshape the roster around him, either immediately or with an eye toward the summer of 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing they have to do is move off LeBron,\u201d an Eastern Conference front office executive told ESPN<\/a>. \u201cLet him walk and use the space to retool around Luka. Keeping Reaves is critical. [Doncic] plays best with another ball handler\/creator like with Kyrie [Irving] and [Jalen] Brunson.\u201d<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Dave McMenamin added, \u201cThat $51 million in cap space L.A. is projected to have is calculated without James and Hachimura, and assuming Deandre Ayton ($8.1 million) and Marcus Smart ($5.4 million) pick up their player options.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf James wants to play a 24th season, he would be welcomed back in L.A., sources told ESPN.<\/p>\n

\u201cPelinka declared before the start of this season that he would love it if James retired a Laker, and, sources told ESPN, that sentiment was meant to reflect a 2026 retirement or a 2027 retirement, if James intends to extend his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf James were to return, his salary would be a major factor in determining exactly what kind of team L.A. could build.\u201d<\/p>\n

James is currently playing on a $52.6 million expiring deal and famously took a $2.7 million pay cut below the maximum when he signed his most recent contract in 2024.<\/p>\n

That willingness to sacrifice financially has already played a role in how the Lakers have operated, and it could again influence what type of team they are able to build if he chooses to stay.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Ivica Zubac Shares Damning Magic Johnson Story From Time With Lakers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the NBA season winds toward its conclusion, one of the league\u2019s biggest unanswered questions centers on what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":609418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3790],"tags":[7,4034,1698,300,4044,251,150,4033,4043,6],"class_list":["post-609417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-lakers","tag-basketball","tag-la","tag-la-lakers","tag-lakers","tag-lalakers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangeleslakers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116090651123269796","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=609417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/609417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/609418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=609417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=609417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=609417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}