LeBron James’ Future With Lakers in Doubt After Insider’s ‘End Is Near’ Comment

At this time of year, with the NBA trade deadline looming, the Los Angeles Lakers tend to make headlines, as the storied franchise is almost always mentioned in trade rumors and speculation about its future after the season.

The 2025-26 campaign is no different, with the Lakers mentioned in several trade rumors along with a lot of talk about the relationship between superstar LeBron James and the team's front office. All signs point to James and the Lakers parting ways once his contract expires, or perhaps before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 5 if he elects to waive his no-trade clause for a trade destination he favors.

It appears the most likely scenario will be James leaving the team in NBA free agency this summer or simply deciding to call it a career after a record-setting 23 seasons. However, anything is possible moving forward, with the franchise intent on building around Luka Doncic.

Shams Charania: 'End is Near' for LeBron's Stint With Lakers

During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that the end is near for James' time with the Lakers.

"The reality is here, what we're having right now, this is an end of a relationship in terms of LeBron James and the Lakers," Charania said. "Whether that comes at the end of this season, if LeBron James decides as a free agent to sign somewhere else, or if he decides to retire, or he decides to come back for one more year and decide he wants to retire as a Laker.

"The end is near with this relationship, however you want to slice it."

It's clear to Charania and anyone paying attention to what is going on in Los Angeles that the Lakers are focused on Doncic moving forward, with James taking a backseat.

"You can see, they've clearly turned the page," Charania said of the Lakers' stance on James. "Luka Doncic is the team's franchise cornerstone. Luka Doncic is where this team is going, and that's understandable to everyone, especially LeBron James, but it's how he wants the end of his career to play out. Does he want to retire a Laker? Does he want to retire somewhere else next season? Or does he just want to retire, period?

"Those are all questions that he is going to have to answer, but on what time, it's going to be on his time."

With the two sides seemingly heading toward a divorce, the rumors will continue to swirl about whether that'll happen before the trade deadline or at the end of the season, when James can choose where he might want to end his NBA career.