LeBron James entered the 2025 offseason with speculation swirling about whether he would leave the Los Angeles Lakers. He had the option to test free agency, but instead exercised his $52.6 million player option, with the Lakers apparently offering nothing else.
While James returned to Los Angeles, the season has not gone as planned. The Lakers have struggled in the standings, and recent reports of Jeanie Buss’ frustration have only intensified trade speculation, raising questions about whether James’ time with the franchise could end before the trade deadline.
NBA Insider Reveals Whether LeBron James’ Lakers Era Will End Before Trade Deadline
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes recently painted a bleak picture of the relationship between Buss and James, reporting that the former Lakers owner had privately expressed frustration with what she viewed as the four-time NBA champion’s “outsized ego.”
While James publicly brushed off the report, saying he didn’t care, The Athletic’s Sam Amick believes the star forward was already well aware of the situation.
“I tend to think that he knew all this already. Does it change when it’s louder? Maybe. It’s an annoyance. It’s an irritation,” he said on “Run it Back.”
Amick went on to describe James’ post-2020 relationship with the Lakers as “a marriage of convenience,” suggesting the writing has been on the wall for some time. After not being offered an extension this past summer, Amick believes a split is inevitable, though not before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
“When you don’t offer a guy who’s in the conversation for greatest player of all time any sort of extension, he had the option,” Amick added. “They basically waited to see, if you want to pick up the option. They didn’t offer anything contract-wise. That told you everything you needed to know. It was Luka’s team now, and they were not interested in retaining LeBron’s $50 million salary slot.
“But I don’t think anything happens before the deadline.”
The James era with the Lakers has been rocky, to say the least. They did win a title, but his first season with the team was filled with drama, as it became clear they intended to trade most of their young talent for Anthony Davis, which jeopardized the season.
Then the Russell Westbrook trade effectively ruined the era, and, per Holmes’ aforementioned article, it appears Buss felt what happened there was on James’ shoulders. While she has publicly pushed back, albeit somewhat halfheartedly, on that characterization, the fallout from the decision appears to have lingered within the organization.
The question is: if he leaves the Lakers, will it be on this trade deadline or in the offseason, and if so, where does he go? It wouldn’t be like James to announce his retirement abruptly, given the attention his name attracts. His retirement appears on the horizon, with only what jersey he will wear when he does left to be decided.