![\"LeBron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2207869186-e1756847176697.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n
LeBron James<\/a>\u2018 future has been a hot topic among Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> fans and the media this summer. The veteran superstar opted into his $52.6 million player option<\/a> early in the offseason.<\/p>\n Yet, as Rob Pelinka has continued to prioritize building around Luka Doncic<\/a>, rumors regarding James\u2019 tenure with the franchise have persisted. However, Jared Greenberg of TNT, speaking via a recent episode of the \u201cGood Word with Goodwill\u201d<\/a> podcast, looked to squash those rumors and the overall narrative that James wants to play elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cLeBron had the opportunity this summer to be a free agent and sign wherever he wanted,\u201d Greenberg said. \u201c\u2026 He didn\u2019t want to sign for the minimum, he did not want to give away his no-trade clause. \u2026 Don\u2019t then be confused as to why he\u2019s still a Laker.\u201d<\/p>\n Greenberg\u2019s comments are logical. James could easily have opted out of his current contract. Then, he would have been free to choose the next stop in his career. Instead, he made the decision to remain in Los Angeles, committing to another year in the Purple and Gold, and another run at contending for a championship.<\/p>\n Sure, James had 52.6 million reasons to stick around. Yet, the truth is, moving to another team wouldn\u2019t guarantee success. Getting James out of LA would mean gutting a roster to make the salaries work. Therefore, sticking with the Lakers, collecting a big paycheque and contending for a championship was an easy decision.<\/p>\n Lakers Building Around Doncic AND LeBron<\/p>\n When speaking to reporters during a news conference in Poland,<\/a> where he was visiting Doncic and the Slovenian National Team, Rob Pelinka made it clear that the Lakers are building around both James and Doncic.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, the title next year is our plan,\u201d Pelinka said. \u201cWith Don\u010di\u0107 and LeBron, we have two top players. Now we want to build a real team around them\u2026It was good to see new basketball players coming to training,\u201d Pelinka said. \u201cDeandre Ayton<\/a>\u00a0is a great reinforcement and such a center will be key for Luka\u2019s passes.\u00a0Marcus Smart<\/a>\u00a0will contribute on defense. But first, we want Luka to focus completely on this tournament with Slovenia. Then he can focus on the Lakers again.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no doubt that Doncic is the new face of the Lakers organization. However, for as long as James remains part of the roster, Pelinka will undoubtedly look to maximize his (still) elite skill set.<\/p>\n Marcus Smart Must Earn His Role<\/p>\n Marcus Smart is among the key additions to the Lakers\u2019 roster this summer. JJ Redick\u2019s team\u00a0ranked 17th in the NBA for defensive rating<\/a> last season. Smart is among the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.<\/p>\n Despite his impressive resume, Mike Breshahan of the \u201cLakeshow podcast\u201d<\/a>\u00a0doesn\u2019t believe Smart should instantly be given a starting role within the Lakers\u2019 rotation.<\/p>\n \u201cIs he in that starting five?\u201d Breshahan asked. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. He played okay with Washington towards the end of his brief run with them last season. I got to see him play some games. He just hasn\u2019t played a full season.\u201d<\/p>\n Smart\u2019s skill set will ease the pressure on both James and Doncic next season. If he can prove he\u2019s healthy during preseason, there\u2019s no reason why he shouldn\u2019t slot straight into the starting lineup.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the Lakers roster is significantly better than it was to end the 2024-25 campaign. Redick has more depth, versatility and talent at his disposal. And with James and Doncic both focused on competing for the Larry O\u2019Brien trophy, it could be a fun season in Lakerland.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAdam Taylor<\/a> is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns for Heavy. He has also written for CelticsBlog, USA Today, Yardbarker and FanSided. Adam has a bachelor\u2019s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Lakers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo by Michael Reaves\/Getty Images LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James\u2018 future has been a hot topic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-115217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}