Lakers Want LeBron James to Retire With Los Angeles: Report

The Los Angeles Lakers want to keep James for the rest of his career.

Apr 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) moves in for the dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers have been enveloped in some strange trade rumors involving LeBron James. These rumors have been swirling around since Rich Paul's strange statement was released.

James would have to ask to be traded if he were to be moved at all, since he owns a no-trade clause on his contract. He would have to sign off on wherever he would end up.

It has always been expected that James would want to finish his career with the Lakers. It seems that the Lakers want him to stay in Los Angeles, as well.

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The Lakers are hoping to keep James for the rest of his career, which likely won't be much longer, according to ClutchPoints. The Lakers still value James as a player and a leader, so they want him to stay as long as he wants to be there.

James is still one of the best players in the NBA, making the All-NBA team this past season. At the age of 40, that is an incredible feat for one of the best players to ever play the game.

The Lakers still believe that they are a contender to win the NBA championship as long as James and Doncic are paired up. They have some work to do around them, but those two guys are their foundation.

Doncic is clearly the future of the franchise, and that has been made abundantly clear with the decisions that the Lakers have made since acquiring him in a trade a couple of weeks before the trade deadline.

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Just because the Lakers want James to stay in LA doesn't mean that he wants to finish his career with the Lakers. He could decide that he wants to be traded or opt out of his deal after this season.

James has never been traded in his career, and it would be shocking for him to change that this late into his career. He would have to be very mad with the Lakers in order to leave Los Angeles.

James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game with the Lakers this past season.

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