The addition of Luka Doncic by the Los Angeles Lakers could lead to LeBron James extending his playing career beyond his previously planned retirement date. James, who has a no-trade clause, wants to remain with the Lakers and could extend his contract this offseason. Furthermore, the Lakers are expected to shift toward a more serious pursuit of a title given the age of Doncic compared to how the James-Anthony Davis era had appeared to be nearing its completion.
“LeBron had no intention and has no intention of asking out before Thursday’s trade deadline,” said Dave McMenamin on NBA Today on Monday. “He’s going to stay with the Lakers to play with Luka Doncic for the remainder of the season. Then, he has a player option this summer that we assume he’ll pick up. But there’s a chance he will renegotiate a new deal and this Luka Doncic addition could extend LeBron James’ career. It’s not a given that next year will be his last year in the NBA.
“Luka Doncic, at 25 years old, and all the skills he brings. And all the commitment the Lakers are going to have from here on out to improve this team to make it championship ready to make sure they get that extension agreement from Luka in a year-and-a-half from now will give LeBron a better team to play with.
“Luka and LeBron could mean more of LeBron because of more of a chance to play championship caliber basketball because of his addition.”
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February 4, 2025 | 12:31 pm
