Skip to main content

Lakers' LeBron James 'Had Eyes' for Rival West Franchise Before Picking Up Option


Lakers' LeBron James 'Had Eyes' for Rival West Franchise Before Picking Up Option originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The Los Angeles Lakers' long-term future with 21-time All-NBA forward LeBron James remains weirdly tenuous, even after he picked up his $52.6 million player option with the team for 2025-26.

Advertisement

Although James is no longer the two-way wrecking ball he was during his MVP prime, he remains an All-NBA talent with massive offensive upside. James also exhibited more defensive engagement for the Lakers than he had since perhaps the 2020-21 season last year, alongside fellow All-Stars Anthony Davis and, later, Luka Doncic.

The 40-year-old former four-time MVP isn't exactly chopped liver, even on the precipice of an unprecedented 23rd pro season. Across 70 contests for the 50-32 Lakers last year, James averaged 24.4 points on .513/.376/.782 shooting splits, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds a night.

James has won four NBA titles with three teams, including the Lakers most recently, in 2019-20. His agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN's Shams Charania soon after James picked up the option that he was hoping L.A. would return to contender status soon, while cautioning that James and Paul may not have conside red the then-current roster (prior to its signing of Deandre Ayton) to be quite at that level.

Advertisement

"LeBron wants to compete for a championship," Paul told Charania. "He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

"We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career," Paul added. "He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what's best for him."

Per The Athletic's John Hollinger, one team in particular appeared to hold some appeal to James: the Dallas Mavericks, led by two of James' All-Star champion teammates, point guard Kyrie Irving and power forward/center Anthony Davis.

Advertisement

"While he opted in to the final year of his contract and does not appear to be an imminent trade candidate, as our Joe Vardon and Dan Woike reported here, that doesn't necessarily mean returning to the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year deal was at the top of his wish list. In particular, the whispers about him having eyes for Dallas — a place where he could have teamed up with former teammates Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and young phenom Cooper Flagg — before opting into his deal were hard to ignore."

Ultimately, James balked at the idea of having to take less than $52.6 million on a non-taxpayer mid-level exception from Dallas or some other contending clu b, and that ultimately drove his decision to opt into the final, expiring year of his deal.

Advertisement

Hollinger registered significant skepticism that James would agree to a contract buyout of the expiring deal.

Related: Mavericks Named Favorites to Land LeBron James After Coaching News

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 21, 2025, where it first appeared.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NBA Monday Morning Shootaround: LeBron James, The Hunger Games, and More - Bleacher Report

Welcome to the "Monday Morning Shootaround," Bleacher Report's recap of the weekend that was in the NBA. Along with getting you caught up on the weekend’s playoff action, we’ll give you a sneak preview of what could potentially be the greatest basketball book of all time, show you the best 70-year-old playground superstar ever, and tell you about a young star that just might choose religion over the fame and fortune of the NBA. The Opening Tip * ABC cameras caught LeBron James reading The Hunger Games before the Miami Heat played the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Shortly thereafter, the Miami Heat small forward proceeded to go into full Katniss Everdeen mode to the tune of 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat pulled out a hard-fought 101-93 victory. After a slow start, Heat guard Dwyane Wade finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists of his own. But Sunday afternoon was all about James and his gaudy numbers, virtually all of which we...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking Down the Differences Between LeBron James and Kevin Durant - Bleacher Report

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are being coined as "the future of the NBA 's next generation." That is certainly true, but they aren't exactly on the same level. LeBron and Durant are two different players, who bring varying skills to different facets of the game. Instead of just comparing them in a "who's the best" fashion, let's take a minute and break down which player excels in each and every facet of the game of basketball. Ahead is a breakdown of the differences that exist between LeBron and Durant.  Scoring Ronald Martinez/Getty Images LeBron 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 27.1 points, 53.1 FG%, 36.3 3P%, 77.1 FT% Durant 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 28.0 points, 49.6 FG%, 38.7 3P%, 86.0 FT% Scoring is what Kevin Durant does. It's not only his specialty, it's also what makes him such a dangerous and elite player. With that being said, LeBron isn't exactly a slouch on the offensive side of the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Luka Dončić joins LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West as only Lakers to post 30 points and 15 assists in a game

LeBron James joined a club of one on Tuesday , while Luka Dončić joined a club of four. With 30 points and a Lakers career-high 15 assists, Luka Dončić became only the fourth player in Lakers history to post those totals in a single game in a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The other three: James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. We'll call that a solid group. That performance included a stretch of three straight 3-pointers to set the tone in the first quarter. It was once again the LeBron and Dončić (LeBrončić?) show, as Dončić's co-star posted 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists. Center Jaxson Hayes also had one of the best games of his Lakers career, scoring 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting plus 10 rebounds. Dončić was two points away from tying his Lakers career high in points as well, and likely would have gotten it had L.A. not taken its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. After a back-and-forth first half in which the P...
Post a Comment
Read more