The Los Angeles Lakers have moved on from LeBron James in a big way. After James let them know he wasn’t re-signing, they went on a spending spree. LA signed Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and executed a sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler. They also re-signed Austin Reaves to a massive extension.
All of those moves have the Lakers very close to being hard-capped. It is also a clear direction away from James. However, the team was just sold to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner. Reports have indicated that James might have decided to return to Los Angeles had the sale gone through sooner.
GettyLos Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James dribbles the ball in a game. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
LeBron James Could Still Be Playing for the Lakers if Sale Happened Sooner
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, James might have considered a return to Los Angeles had the sale gone through sooner.
“Maybe,” the source said. “But that’s tough to answer. Communication could have been better [with Iger and Kushner, compared to with Walter]. Just a different relationship. But the basketball piece was the most important, so maybe not from that standpoint,” McMenamin wrote.
James wanted to go somewhere that he could possibly win a championship. The roster around James at that point was not as strong as the 76ers‘. Had James stayed, they also wouldn’t have had the cap space to make all of the moves they wanted to make this offseason.
The report doesn’t indicate that James had a poor relationship with Walter. He just didn’t communicate well with him, although Walter didn’t seem to communicate a lot with the players. The relationship with ownership was much different when the Buss family was still in charge.
James played eight seasons with the Lakers. He decided to sign a two-year deal with the 76ers, which he indicated will be the final one he plays with. His two-year deal with Philly is worth $8 million and includes a player option for the final year.
GettyLos Angeles guard Luka Doncic dribbles the ball in a game. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Has Gone All-In With the Current Roster
With the amount of money they have spent replacing James, the Lakers are going all-in on a title. The sign-and-trade for Kessler leaves them without many first-round picks to trade, which could lessen their ability to improve the team at the trade deadline.
In fact, this will likely be the roster LA goes with for the next two or three years. They don’t have much financial flexibility in the next few years. Right now, they are hard-capped at the first apron. The Lakers wouldn’t have been hard-capped had James stayed, though.
James decided to move to the Eastern Conference and will try to win his fifth championship with the 76ers. Now, the Lakers have fully moved into Luka Doncic being the undisputed leader of the team. Doncic has already led a team to the NBA Finals, as he led the Mavericks to the Finals in 2023.
Los Angeles has not made the NBA Finals since the 2020 bubble in Orlando. That was the lone title James won while he was with the Lakers.
Lakers Reportedly Could Have Retained LeBron James if Sale Happened Earlier