Though the Lakers made a franchise-altering trade early Sunday morning that also changed the landscape of the NBA, don’t expect LeBron James to be on the move.
James, whose presence has been at the heart of many Lakers decisions since he joined the club in 2018, intends to remain with the team through Thursday’s trade deadline, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported Sunday.
James was caught “off guard” by the blockbuster trade sending Anthony Davis to the Mavericks and Luka Doncic to the Lakers, according to ESPN, as he found out like the rest of the world — from Shams Charania breaking the news early Sunday morning — while he was out to dinner with family in New York after the Lakers’ win over the Knicks Saturday night.
The 40-year-old has wanted to play with his son, Bronny, which he’s had the chance to do this year after the Lakers selected him in the second round of the 2024 draft, but that didn’t stop speculation earlier in the season that James could potentially get moved to a team better positioned to win a championship.
James, however, said in December he “hopefully” will retire with the Lakers.
The Lakers have played better of late, having won eight of their last 10 to improve to 28-19, good for fifth in the Western Conference entering Sunday.
But the dynamic of the team has completely changed with the Doncic trade.
It will likely take time for James and Doncic to build chemistry, and it’s unclear exactly when Doncic will suit up again and how much rust he’ll have after being out since Christmas with a calf injury.
Doncic could return before the NBA All-Star break, according to ESPN.
The Lakers have five games left before the break, with the last one on Feb. 12 at Utah.
James has a player option for next season and it’s unclear how much longer he wants to play.
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