There has been plenty of speculation surrounding the future of LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers after the 40-year-old picked up his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season.
With James approaching the end of his career, it's clear that his ultimate goal is winning. There's doubt as to whether the Lakers are ready to contend right now, leading to some discussion as to whether James could try to angle for a trade.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, James's agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports told him that he hasn't held any substantiative negotiations with teams about a potential James trade, but there have been some teams that have inquired about his availability.
"[Rich Paul] told me that he has not had any discussion with the Lakers about wanting a trade."@mcten shares that Rich Paul has not had any "substantiative" conversations with any teams about trading LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/XpnpPVFnQq
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 30, 2025
"[Rich Paul] told me that he has not had any discussion with the Lakers about wanting a trade... He did say that four teams have contacted him in the last 24 hours wanting to talk trade, but Rich didn't have any substantiative conversations with those teams, either," said McMenamin.
"LeBron is focused on playing on a championship-caliber roster... We'll see in a week from now, when Rob Pelinka is finished doing his work with this roster, if it looks like a winning, realistic situation," McMenamin added.
If the Lakers can't make some moves to put themselves in position to compete for a title this season, it could mark the end of James's time with the franchise. However, as it stands, it seems there's been nothing communicated to indicate that James is heading toward the exit door ahead of year 23.
More NBA on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rich Paul Addressed Speculation LeBron James Could Request Trade From Lakers.
