The Los Angeles Lakers are no longer beholden to LeBron James, which the team has shown in multiple ways this summer.
James opted into his $52.6 million contract in late June and immediately indicated that he expects the Lakers to flip resources for a chance to win in 2025-26, which could be his last run in Los Angeles and the NBA.
But L.A. hasn’t made any blockbuster trades and slogged through the first few days of free agency, losing Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets and watching center targets like Clint Capela and Brook Lopez sign with Western rivals Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.
The Lakers eventually signed Deandre Ayton after the Portland Trail Blazers bought out the final year of his contract, but that doesn’t read like a seismic move in a Western Conference that is home to much improved rosters in Houston and Denver and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
That L.A. is gearing its contract strategies toward building around Luka Doncic in 2026 and 2027 has become clear. That James may push for a trade is more than evident based on the Lakers’ offseason decisions to this point and the comments James’ agent Rich Paul made to Shams Charania of ESPN late last month.
The question is what destination might make the most sense for James in his age-41 campaign, which also has the kind of player the Lakers will want back in return for the four-time MVP? One possible answer is the Philadelphia 76ers and recent MVP center Joel Embiid.
James doesn’t have the leverage to force the Lakers into making a bad trade, though he can veto any deal L.A. attempts to make this summer or ahead of the February deadline based on the no-trade clause in his contract.
The Sixers didn’t make the playoffs last season, though the primary reasons were injuries to Embiid, Paul George and Jared McCain. Philadelphia should be considerably more competitive next season with George and McCain healthy and playing alongside Tyrese Maxey and rookie/No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe. Quentin Grimes, a restricted free agent, could also be back after a breakout campaign in 2024-25.
That isn’t the best roster in the NBA, but it is full of youth and athleticism that could complement James and George in an injury-battered Eastern Conference that will see the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers acquiesce to gap years based on injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, respectively.
