LeBron James Wants To Compete For A Championship, Monitoring Lakers Moves

On day one of free agency, the Lakers lost Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets and signed Jake LaRavia. 

Los Angeles was linked to Brook Lopez and Clint Capela, but Lopez signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and Capela was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Houston Rockets. 

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of this year’s playoffs in five games. James averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks in the five-game series. He suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee in Game 5.

James is the oldest active player in the NBA. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Lakers last season in 70 games. 

James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, issued the following statement to Charania after James picked up his 2025-26 player option: 

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship. 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.”