LeBron James re-signing reportedly ‘most likely scenario,’ Lakers open to ‘any deal’

The Lakers will head into another offseason unsure of the future of LeBron James, though this time all signs seem to point to him staying in Los Angeles.

For a second straight year, the Lakers season came to a close at the hands of the Nuggets. And for a second straight season, LeBron James’ future is up in the air.

This time around, retirement isn’t on the table this summer. Instead, LeBron can opt out of his contract and become a free agent. For quite some time now, the signs have pointed to him staying in Los Angeles, including in James’ own words.

But at the conclusion of Monday’s Game 5, multiple articles further underscored that it’s unlikely LeBron’s time in Southern California is over.

First, Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic published an extensive report that included a lot about LeBron and how “badly” the Lakers want him back.

As for his father, the Lakers want him back — badly — and the potential of the 39-year-old LeBron returning remains the most likely scenario. Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, in particular, believes James’ return is of paramount importance to their plan. This franchise has always been buoyed by the stars, and James’ ability to still play at an elite level at his advanced age has only strengthened the desire to have him retire in a purple-and-gold jersey one day. And after six seasons together in which there has been no shortage of ups and downs, Buss and James, team sources say, have a relationship that is better than ever these days.

The Lakers, team sources say, would be open to discussing any deal that involves James coming back — including even the maximum three-year, $164 million extension they can offer. Playing through a three-year deal would put him at 42 by the end of the contract.

“He’s not the problem here,” one high-ranking Lakers official said of LeBron.

After the game on Monday, LeBron was asked about his future and whether he had considered the fact that he may have just played his last game as a Laker. Interestingly, he declined to answer with a little bit of a smirk as well.

You could certainly read into that any way you want. Maybe he didn’t answer it because it wasn’t his last game as a Laker. Maybe he didn’t answer it because it WAS his last game as a Laker but he didn’t want to tell everyone yet. It’s a completely ambiguous response, though.

As was the case last year, though, when LeBron teased the idea of retirement in his press conference after being swept by the Nuggets, everything is being kept close to the vest. Dave McMenamin of ESPN also published an article shortly after the final buzzer sounded and revealed that even the Lakers don’t know LeBron’s plans.

And as the Lakers enter the offseason, the franchise finds itself in flux beyond deciding who will be roaming the sidelines next season. The future of LeBron James, who has a player option worth $51.4 million for 2024-25, remains a mystery. Sources told ESPN that, as recently as last week, team officials still did not know the league’s all-time leading scorer’s plans of what he will do with his contract.

Last year, LeBron’s wait-and-see game was more about his health than about what the Lakers did in the summer. This time around, LeBron is much healthier and the primary focus will be on the Lakers and what they do, including at head coach, with Darvin Ham’s job reportedly in “serious peril.”

The remarkable aspect of LeBron, as well, is that he is showing minimal signs of slowing down. Because of that, as written in the The Athletic article, he’s eyeing multiple more seasons of playing in the league, wherever his next stop may be.

Coming off his 21st NBA season, James is expected to play up to two more NBA seasons, one source briefed on his thinking said. He has a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. Two more seasons would take James through the 2026 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.

It’s anticipated James, ahead of his June 29 option date, will want to see how the Lakers manage the offseason and their approach to building the roster around him and Davis. He places importance on having comprehensive and well-rounded depth around him, which could mean the Lakers explore trades in the lead-up to that player option, sandwiched between the NBA Draft, which begins June 26, and the opening of free agency on June 30.

While much of the discussion about LeBron’s basketball future has focused on the on-court and basketball aspects of it — which, duh — there is also a human aspect of it, too. When talking to McMenamin about his future, LeBron talked about his family and his kids.

“I got a family,” James said. “I got a nine-year-old daughter. I got a son that’s in college, that’s deciding if he’s going to go to college or go pro. I got a son that’s about to be a senior in high school. I’ve missed a lot of family time and they’ve allowed me to do that and never put no pressure on me. ...

“That s--- is important too. What more [is left]? I’ve done everything I can do. There’s nothing I haven’t accomplished in this league that I’ve wanted to accomplish. So like at some point you got to [hang it up].”

If you were reading between the lines a bit, is LeBron going to uproot his family when his son is a senior in high school and his daughter is in school to go chase a ring? And that quote alone shows how important family is to him, so playing away from his family doesn’t seem like a realistic option either.

Right now, though, all we’re left to do is attempt to decipher the tea leaves, read between those lines and try to figure out what a non-answer from him in a press conference might mean.

But everything does continue to point to LeBron’s Lakers tenure not being over just yet.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.