LeBron James Feels Los Angeles Lakers ‘Are More in a Futuristic Mindset’

According to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN, LeBron James feels that the Los Angeles Lakers “are more in a futuristic mindset.”

James, 40, wants to compete for a championship next season, but the Lakers haven’t made any title-making moves this offseason.

Los Angeles lost Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets and signed Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia.

“He feels clearly that the Lakers are more in a futuristic mindset,” Charania said on Sirius XM NBA Radio. “Where does that go? If one side feels like, listen, I wanna compete for a championship, the other side is just trying to compete for the future, but then that other side is like, well, we are trying to win a championship, like, where does that meet in the roads that we see?

“And I think that situation will play out over the next two months. I really think there will be some hard conversations eventually that will need to happen there.”

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games despite having James, Luka Doncic and home-court advantage.

Doncic, 26, is the new franchise player in Los Angeles. James picked up his player option with the Lakers for the 2025-26 season, but after what his agent (Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group) told Charania a few weeks ago, many people around the NBA believe LeBron could request a trade this offseason.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told Charania after James picked up his 2025-26 player option. “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. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”

James turns 41 next season. The four-time MVP and four-time Finals MVP is coming off a brilliant campaign. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks in 2024-25 and made the All-NBA Second Team. 

If James requests a trade, he can pick where he wants the Lakers to trade him since he has a no-trade clause in his contract.

However, James’ salary ($52.6 million) makes it very, very difficult for a contending team to trade for him. 

Latest NBA News & Rumors