Teams Continue To Inquire About LeBron James’ Availability

Most around the NBA seem to believe LeBron James isn’t going anywhere. After exercising a $52.6 million player option before the start of free agency, he is likely to stay put and play for the Los Angeles Lakers.

But that isn’t keeping opposing teams from asking. And why not? At the age of 40, James remains one of the NBA’s very best. 

So it never hurts to ask, right? Right. It appears that is what rival teams continue to do.

“It’s one of the biggest topics of conversation around the league,” wrote ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst. “The concept of a trade is not impossible — nothing is impossible in the NBA after the Luka Doncic trade — but it is unlikely due to James’ large salary and his no-trade clause.

“There were a few inquiries from eyebrow-raised teams, sources said, just to gauge whether this was something or nothing. For now, there is no action. But it is surely being monitored.”

ESPN did not offer details on which teams are calling the Lakers about James. At least four have reportedly done so.

But the sentiment around the NBA, again, is that while the Lakers are willing listeners, moving LeBron would be next to impossible given his current salary. Of course, that’s not to suggest the rumors will die down anytime soon.

“In a league that’s extremely and intimately familiar with strange circumstances, few in recent memory can rival this one,” Bontemps and Windhorst wrote. “But until James, or the Lakers, slams the door on the idea of him playing elsewhere next season, speculation will continue.”

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