NBA exec outlines one scenario in which LeBron James returns to Lakers

LeBron James' future in the NBA has been one of the main talking points in sports for the past four months or so.

He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and after 23 years playing at the highest level, he's clearly inching closer to the end of the line.

Also, the Los Angeles Lakers seem ready to give Luka Doncic the keys to ignition, leaving James as the second or even third option at times.

Then again, regardless of the rumors of retirement or signing with another team, an unnamed league executive believes he can still stay in Los Angeles for a while longer.

One scenario in which LeBron James could remain with Lakers

According to a report by ESPN insiders Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst, that would only happen if James were willing to take a significant pay cut.

"Stay with the Lakers at a significantly reduced salary. (This would be "the Dirk option," as one executive said, referencing Dirk Nowitzki's large pay cuts in his later years to stay with the Dallas Mavericks and help them help build out the roster)," the executive told Bontemps and Windhorst.

James is a billionaire. He's earned more than $580 million in NBA salary alone, so money clearly shouldn't be an issue.

Whether he'll be interested in playing for longer remains to be seen, though. He's complained about playing on Christmas and admitted that he doesn't watch the NBA nowadays, so the competitive fire might not be there anymore.