![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-1386973980-2-e1776347933157.jpg\")
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LeBron James could be playing in his final games as a Los Angeles Lakers player amid rumors. <\/p>\n
Things were clicking for the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> despite LeBron James<\/a>\u2018 uncertain future with the franchise, but things have taken a drastic turn. With Luka Doncic<\/a> and Austin Reaves<\/a> both dealing with injuries, this optimism in Hollywood has come to a screeching halt. <\/p>\n Now, it appears James\u2019 days with the Lakers are numbered. Bleacher Report\u2019s Jake Fischer<\/a> reported that the expectation is that James and the Lakers will cut ties this offseason. <\/p>\n James will be a free agent in the coming months. The NBA<\/a> insider noted that James and the Lakers were waiting to see how things would come together alongside Doncic and Reaves. <\/p>\n \u201cI think the Lakers and LeBron himself needed to see just a tremendous playoff push with the three of those guys all in lockstep, all clicking together,\u201d Fischer explained during an April 15, 2026, live stream. \u201cAll kind of having a run similar to that run in 2024 to the Western Conference Finals that made this group feel like they wanted to run this back. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that they are not, at this juncture, seeming to have that type of runway in front of them, I think makes it more likely than ever before that we could see LeBron James play in a different uniform next season. And it\u2019s certainly going to be a conversation in other front offices around the league. \u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you need to know about the latest Lakers rumors ahead of the NBA playoffs<\/p>\n Lakers Rumors: There Is a Growing Expectation That LeBron James Will Bolt LA in NBA Free Agency<\/p>\n The Lakers are preparing to take on the Houston Rockets<\/a> with Game 1 tipping off on Saturday, April 18. Los Angeles could be without both Doncic and Reaves as the two stars continue to recover from injuries. <\/p>\n Fans may be seeing James\u2019 final games wearing a Lakers uniform. NBA insider Marc Stein<\/a> reported that there is a \u201cgrowing anticipation\u201d that James, Kawhi Leonard<\/a> and Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> could all be playing for new teams when the 2026-27 season begins. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Lakers\u2019 LeBron James. The Clippers<\/a>\u2018 Kawhi Leonard. And, of course, Milwaukee\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo. Expect to hear lots about their futures all spring,\u201d Stein wrote in an April 13, story titled, \u201cMonday Best: The latest around-the-league Intel on player, coach and executive movement.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNBA free agency certainly isn\u2019t what it once was, as we\u2019ve chronicled here numerous times, given how common it has become for so many top players to seek and sign contract extensions that spare them from having to test the open market. Yet there is a growing anticipation in numerous front offices, league sources say, that two or even all three of the above marquee names could land with new teams next season.\u201d<\/p>\n The Warriors Could Make Strong Push to Poach LeBron James From Lakers: Insider<\/p>\n As a reminder, James is in the final months of a two-year, $101 million contract<\/a> with the Lakers. Last offseason, NBA teams could begin negotiating with free agents on June 30, while new deals could not be signed until July 6. <\/p>\n Fans can expect a similar timeline<\/a> for the 2026 NBA free agency. It remains to be seen where James will sign if the star does bolt Los Angeles. <\/p>\n The Golden State Warriors<\/a> continue to be floated as a potential landing spot for James, per ESPN\u2019s Ramona Shelburne.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u2026Name an aging star out there who might be available, I think the Warriors will try\u2026They\u2019re relatively predictable,\u201d Shelburne told 95.7 The Game on April 15. \u201cThey\u2019ll keep taking swings.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tJonathan Adams<\/a> is a veteran sports contributor covering the NFL, NBA and golf for Heavy.com. His work has been prominently featured on NFL.com, Yahoo Sports, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and Sports Illustrated. More about Jonathan Adams<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LeBron James could be playing in his final games as a Los Angeles Lakers player amid rumors.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711801,"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":{"0":"post-711800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-lakers","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-lakers","11":"tag-lakers","12":"tag-lalakers","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-losangeleslakers","17":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116414815726211385","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711800","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=711800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}