This comes as James’ agent Rich Paul put out a series of curious statements related to his top client’s future in Los Angeles and what appears to be hopes for trades. James to remain a Laker remains the most likely option, but the odds have shifted from -700 to -340 at the time of writing.

While NBA superstar LeBron James picked up his $52.6 million player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, it did not guarantee that he would remain in L.A. How the Lakers would handle player acquisition via the draft and free agency led to speculation over whether James could be traded.

The Athletic's Joe Vardon and Dan Woike broke new reporting on Wednesday morning, and it's this: "LeBron James hasn’t had buyout, trade discussions with Lakers, both sides expect that he will be with team for training camp."