All-NBA Lakers small forward LeBron James surprised the basketball world at large on Monday when he suggested he would be contemplating retirement this offseason.
Shams Charania said on FanDuel TV (Twitter video link) that he believes the 19-time All-Star will stick around at least a while longer.
“My sense is LeBron could have two years left remaining in his his career,” Charania said. “… There’s certainly an expectation that he’s gonna continue playing, he’s got two years left on his Lakers deal. … It would be a true surprise if he really did actually retire.”
There’s more out of Los Angeles:
- The Lakers only have three guaranteed contracts on their books for 2023/24. Multiple league executives spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy.com about what Los Angeles might decide to do this offseason in terms of roster construction. The team has a player option on swingman Malik Beasley, which one executive expects the club to pick up. “He can be a contributor, really on any team,” they said. “The expectation is they’ll keep him. He can be a good trade piece if you need one. It’s just, if the tax is a big worry, he’d be the easy piece to move off of.” Following some big playoff games essentially in Beasley’s stead, unrestricted free agent Lonnie Walker IV may get more money elsewhere, another executive speculates. “I can’t see how they can pay him, he is probably a goner,” the exec said.
- James’ former Cavaliers teammate Kyrie Irving, now an unrestricted free agent, has long been seen as a potential fit for Los Angeles. Jason Lloyd and Jon Greenberg of The Athletic weigh the pros and cons of adding an erratic, controversial talent of Irving’s caliber and price tag.
- The Lakers, possessors of the Nos. 17 and 47 picks in this year’s draft, will work out six young prospects on Friday, headlined by G League Ignite small forward Leonard Miller, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). Virginia guard Kihei Clark, Kentucky forward Chris Livingston, Pepperdine forward Maxwell Lewis, Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II, and Baylor guard Adam Flagler round out the invitees.
James isn’t walking away from 46mil. He will be back
Has nothing to do with the money, not even a little bit lol
Lol. Has everything to do with money
LeBron has 2 years left on his current deal. He is gonna play out next season with the Lakers. He will then execute his Player Option for year 2 of the deal to become a free agent. He will then sign with whatever team drafts Bronny. This is why Bronny is suddenly being ranked as a lottery pick despite not being at that level. Draft Bronny …. You get LeBron …. A contender will trade up.
LBJ’s retirement theatrics may be real.
Media drama is always his attempt, and intent, but he may have a bad wheel.
Being big and not playing in the post is not helpful
Kareem put up a team best performance in his last game Vs Detroit, then retired.
Lebron became a businessman now… win or lose he will go for the money.
46mil just for him and still pressures the Front Office to go after Kyrie. With what money?! He eats up about 30% of the teams cap room by himself.
Should take a discount if he really wants to win. Im sure he has enough money already.
LeBron said that to scare Lakers into spending money this offseason. He is not leaving. There is 0 chance Kyrie is going to LA
@arc2 Lol I love people like you who don’t know anything but still make bs claims anyway ha.
What is a BS claim? So you are saying Lebron is going to retire? i bet you any amount of money he will be playing next year.
Yeah, idk about Kyrie, but ARC 2 is right. LeBron is DEFINITELY using his retirement talk as leverage to pressure the franchise to spend more.
The fact anyone would be surprised by this or even try to deny this is simply laughable, and it just shows they haven’t followed his career.
LeBron has ALWAYS used leaving as a form of pressuring his team’s owner and GM to spend and trade away future assets in order to increase their current rosters talent level, and as a result increase his chances at a title for that season or the following season.
It’s been part of the reason why he’s always signed short-term deals. It is to make sure he always has the upper hand and negotiating power…He’s written the book on player empowerment, and the guide on how to leverage teams…No single player has ever done it as well as LBJ.
Anyone who follows basketball knows this, so why should we question this time is anything different??
He’s already stated how long he plans on playing for countless times, a few nagging injuries isn’t changing that desire + half a hundred million dollars…
I don’t think you know what chance means
Coming from how the salary cap works it would be a complete miracle to sign Kyrie unless he agrees to a very small amount of money. So the chance is .01%