LeBron James becoming available has, typically, been a seismic NBA event. Teams famously spent the several years leading up to his 2010 free agency clearing cap space. Pretty much all league business halted for the first 11 days of July in 2014 as teams schlepped across the country first to Cleveland and then, later, to Las Vegas to woo him following four consecutive Finals trips in Miami. The Denver Nuggets practically stood outside LeBron’s window with a boombox in the rain when he was available for less than 24 hours back in 2018.
Pretty much everything that has happened in the NBA for the past two decades has hinged on James in some significant away. He’s been available a scant few times, but every time he’s changed teams, he’s brought a championship to his new home. He’s arguably the greatest player in NBA history. It’s therefore fairly surprising that the events of the past week or so have not created a robust market for his services.
On Sunday, James opted into the final year of his contract with the Lakers. The statement he released through his agent, Rich Paul, suggests that he wasn’t entirely thrilled with his own decision. “LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.”
Whether or not he has a realistic chance at winning a championship with the Lakers is subjective, but at the very least, it certainly doesn’t seem as though the Lakers are going all out to get him one. They lost key free-agent wing Dorian Finney-Smith for nothing when he signed with Rockets because they were unwilling to make the four-year commitment that Houston did. While they’ve added Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia in free agency, they do not appear to have come close on any substantial trades. At the deadline, they were willing to offer recent first-round pick Dalton Knecht, their 2031 first-round choice and a 2030 first-round swap for Mark Williams. This summer, though, all of those assets remain in Los Angeles.
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