LeBron James reportedly waiting on Lakers’ offseason plan

Per Windhorst, if the Lakers offer James anything below the maximum salary, his side would want clarity on how the organization intends to use the remaining cap flexibility and which players Los Angeles hopes to pursue.

Windhorst also discussed the possibility — however speculative — of James eventually leaving the Lakers altogether.

According to Windhorst, a sign-and-trade would likely represent the cleanest pathway financially if James wanted to join another contender while still maximizing earnings.

If James were instead willing to sign for significantly less money, Windhorst floated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors as potential destinations.

Naturally, Cleveland immediately grabs attention given James’ history there.

Along with that, Warriors angle also continues surfacing around the league following James’ successful on-court partnership with Stephen Curry during the 2024 Olympics.

Still, as of today, there’s no hard evidence that James intends to leave LA. Or that he’ll even keep playing at all.

Even after his age-41 season, he remains highly productive, averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds this past year while sharing the spotlight alongside Luka Doncic.

As always with LeBron, the waiting may end up becoming almost as interesting as the decision itself.