[Amick] According to two high-ranking team sources, the prospect of James returning is still in play from the organization’s point of view. But that scenario would require patience from James, as the Lakers have approximately $50 million in salary cap room and plan on prioritizing roster balance
Team and league sources granted anonymity to speak openly say James has made no decisions regarding his future; that retirement remains a real possibility. The notion that James would want a farewell tour — long cited as evidence that this season was not his last — is false, those sources said, with several sources even hearing that directly from James himself.
The hypothetical tour, like so many other things dealing with James, is something people believed he’d want. Just like they believed he’d be unable to meld his style around the Lakers’ guards or stomach the organization prioritizing its future around younger stars.
That warmup session in Dallas came shortly after the Lakers played their best basketball since the 2019-20 championship season, a stretch of play that helped stoke James’ passion for winning and repair bridges that had been damaged during his eight years with the Lakers.
After months of speculation that the two parties were headed for a divorce, a strong March changed the Lakers’ landscape and, potentially, the future between the organization and player. Winning, sources said, increased the chances of James and the Lakers extending their partnership.
Around the league, rumors also persist that one last run in Cleveland, or a superstar Steph Curry-James duo in Golden State, are plausible possibilities as well. Per team sources, the Warriors’ interest in James this summer remains serious. The Cavs, and the prospect of a goodbye tour where James’ journey began, are also still widely seen by rival executives as a legitimate possibility. But in both cases, the luxury tax poses obstacles that likely mean James would have to make major financial concessions to come their way.
The Lakers’ ability to level up in March, when faith was restored on both sides in regards to this complicated partnership, could have a significant impact on James’ future.
According to team and league sources, the Lakers have not closed the door on James returning next season. While it’s been the organization’s public position that it hopes James retires as a Laker, the run in March was the clearest example of the basketball advantages of pairing him with Dončić and Reaves.
“It was real,” one Lakers executive said of the stretch, the winning and the chemistry.
According to two high-ranking team sources, the prospect of James returning is still in play from the organization’s point of view. But that scenario would require patience from James, as the Lakers have approximately $50 million in salary cap room and plan on prioritizing roster balance above all else as they continue to build around Dončić.
Reaves, who according to league sources intends to decline the final year of his contract with the Lakers and become an unrestricted free agent, is expected to have top-of-market interest from multiple teams, both those with cap space and those that would need to create it to sign him. Reaves said that he hopes to remain with the Lakers and has strong advocates in Dončić and James. Dončić, according to a league source, has enjoyed his time with James as a teammate.
But the summer of 2026 has long been positioned as a moment of change for the organization, with the team having access to both salary cap space and three first-round picks to use in trades. And as it relates to James and his potential contract negotiations — with the Lakers or any other team — there’s a central question that only he can answer: How much of a factor will money be when he makes his decision?
According to Spotrac, James has been paid a combined \(581 million over the course of his career, and he is the first active NBA player to reach billionaire status (with a “real time net worth” of \)1.4 billion in March), per Forbes. That financial backdrop matters, of course, because the teams most often cited as realistic options outside of Los Angeles would very likely require a hefty decline in pay.
The Warriors, for example, would likely be limited to the \(15 million, non-taxpayer midlevel exception at best and a minimum-salary deal (\)3.3 million) at worst. A sign-and-trade would be possible, but the Lakers would have to be incentivized to cooperate and that route would also hard-cap the Warriors at the first apron (projected at $209 million).
The Cavs, meanwhile, are in an even more restrictive position. Even if they let Keon Ellis and Dean Wade walk in free agency, they would be \(7.7 million over the second apron. In order to offer the \)6 million taxpayer midlevel exception, they would need to be \(6 million under the second apron, and approximately \)45 million from where they are now, to use the non-taxpayer MLE. As for the sign-and-trade path, that’s not allowed for teams above the first apron (they are approximately $21 million over at present).
Per league sources, a move across town to the LA Clippers, where James has a very close relationship and championship history with coach Tyronn Lue, could also become part of the conversation. That route, unlikely though it is believed to be, would give James and his family a second option when it comes to staying put in Los Angeles. The belief among league sources is that if James were to choose another team, he would do so only with the idea that he would elevate it to serious championship contention.