Rich Paul: LeBron James will finish season with Lakers

“Is LeBron, realistically, a guy who could not be on the Lakers at the end of this year?” Kellerman asked.

“No,” Paul quickly replied.

“He will be on the Lakers at the end of this year?” Kellerman said.

“Yeah,” Paul said. “Where’s he going to go?”

James, who is in his record-setting 23rd NBA season, has never been traded over the course of his long NBA career, with the exception of a 2010 sign-and-trade for logistical purposes after he had already decided to leave Cleveland for Miami as a free agent.

Still, there was some trade speculation involving the four-time MVP in the offseason after Paul put out a cryptic statement at the time James exercised his 2025/26 option. That statement referred to LeBron valuing “a realistic chance” of winning a title, recognizing that the Lakers were “building for the future,” and wanting to evaluate what was best for him.

That trade speculation died down within a few weeks when it became clear that James, who holds a no-trade clause, wasn’t actively seeking a deal.

There have been rumblings since then about the possibility that the 2025/26 season could be LeBron’s last in Los Angeles, even if he doesn’t retire, since he’s on an expiring contract and won’t become eligible for an extension before he reaches free agency. The Lakers, meanwhile, have pivoted to building around Luka Doncic and will likely be prioritizing a new long-term contract for Austin Reaves in the summer of 2026. If James doesn’t return, L.A. could open up a significant chunk of cap room to use before re-signing Reaves.

However, it doesn’t sound as if any decisions about James’ future in Los Angeles will be made until the offseason. With the Lakers off to a 17-6 start and holding the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, they’re well positioned in the race for playoff positioning and have enough movable assets to pursue in-season upgrades on the trade market to fortify the roster around James, Doncic, and Reaves.