Could LeBron – As LeBron James sits inside the Lakers’ exclusive negotiating window, two writers weigh what matters most: whether he plays a 24th season, whether he leaves Los Angeles, and what he’d realistically have to accept—especially with the Warriors’ roster health and
LeBron James’s next decision is already being talked about like it’s both inevitable and impossible.
The Lakers are in the middle of their exclusive negotiating window with him. yet the answers about what comes next still don’t feel close to settled. He appears likely to play a 24th NBA season. Still. questions remain—big ones—about whether he stays in Los Angeles or surprises the basketball world by teaming up with Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors to close out his career.
Even the betting market has joined the conversation. BetMGM’s current betting odds list the Warriors at +300 if James leaves the Lakers, keeping speculation about a partnership with Curry alive.
With free agency approaching, Lakers writer Dan Woike and Warriors writer Nick Friedell sat down to tackle the biggest questions being asked across the league.
What will LeBron do?
Woike said he’s more confident that James returns than not. For Woike. the competitive fire is still there. and retirement is different because it requires giving up certainty—“never feel certain feelings again.” He pointed to what retirement would mean for James in practical terms: having the crowd in his hand in his home building and “snuffing out an opponent’s hopes in their own arena.”.
Woike tied that to James’s lived experience, saying he felt that in the first round against the Houston Rockets.
He also raised a quieter tradeoff: retirement would mean giving up the chance to play with or against his son at a stage in his career when James “should be competing for regular minutes.” Woike added that James loves golf and that it may play a small factor—but he still believes the thing James loves most is the commitment to the work that greatness requires. and that he may not be ready to let it go.
Friedell, meanwhile, described a shift in his thinking. He said that when the season started, he thought it was it for LeBron. But after watching him in the postseason—and after continued conversations—Friedell now believes James has at least one more season left.
He pointed to a detail from the Lakers’ locker room after they were swept by the Thunder, saying an NBA Entertainment crew was on hand to monitor his moves in case it was his last game. Friedell said that isn’t a common occurrence.
Friedell said he believes James is coming back. but that everyone around the league still understands there’s a chance he already played his last game. He also said he doesn’t believe—no matter what’s said—that James would walk without some kind of retirement tour. calling that possibility something that “would really shock” him.
Do you really think he would leave LA?
Woike is less certain that he would.
When Woike has spoken with LeBron about his life outside of basketball, Woike said it has always been Los Angeles-centric—watching his daughter play volleyball and heading out to play golf at his country club.
Woike asked whether James could get the family time with Zhuri that he “lost with his two older sons” if he played somewhere else. He did not rule out a move, though. He said that if James wants to play and wants to do it on his terms, he might need to look outside of Los Angeles.
Friedell’s stance is more direct: he’ll believe it when he sees it, saying he doesn’t think James leaves. Friedell said, “By all accounts,” James seems comfortable in LA, and noted that the city offers a variety of options as his interests outside basketball expand.
Friedell also focused on the personal cost. Moving. he said. is miserable for everybody even when money can lessen the blow—and he questioned whether his family is ready for one more uprooting at this stage. He asked a different kind of question too: what team gives him a better chance to win while offering the same quality of life?.
How much less money do you think he is willing to take?
This is where the conversation tightens around what is realistic.
Woike said that if James is playing for another team, it would likely be via sign-and-trade or via the midlevel exception at $15 million. He called the MLE “a wild pay cut” and said it would make James the best player ever to sign for an exception like this.
Would he do it?. Woike is skeptical. He argued that because James has to be mentally and physically prepared to play a single game. he’s not sure James could get there knowing he would be playing for less than “say. Jakob Poeltl.” Woike said the Lakers can work him into their cap space. but doing so would slow their ability to make other meaningful changes—leaving “it’s a tight spot.”.
Friedell asked a more structural question: where would James realistically go?. He pointed to what’s known about the Lakers. and said there has been a little bit of talk about a potential move back to Cleveland over the last year. He also referenced a team up in Northern California that appears to be waiting to see what happens.
A Warriors year with Steph and Draymond—possible?
The idea of a Warriors finale built around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green has plenty of gravity, in part because it would mean playing with people he’s competed against and respected for more than a decade.
Woike said the idea could appeal to James because playing with friends and contemporaries feels right at this stage. He pointed to the age gap—James is a generation older than most of today’s NBA players—and said being around people his age whom he’s known and competed with would have real appeal.
Woike also connected it to shared history beyond the regular season, citing LeBron and Steph’s gold-medal-winning experience in Paris.
Friedell, though, brought the focus back to what the Warriors can actually build.
He said Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy, Jr. told people on Wednesday that the hope is the team gets younger over the summer, not older. But Friedell added that Dunleavy did leave the door open for adding more veteran talent if the opportunity presents itself.
Friedell then turned the question into a practical fit: even if James would enjoy playing with Steph and Draymond, why would he go to a team that doesn’t have a realistic chance to contend?
He pointed to multiple issues. Steph can still turn it on, Friedell said, but he argued that a knee issue could linger for the rest of his career. He said Draymond isn’t the same player night to night that he used to be.
Then he listed what the Warriors will likely be dealing with next season: Jimmy Butler is expected to be out for a large chunk of next season while rehabbing an ACL injury. Moses Moody is also rehabbing a ruptured patellar tendon injury.
Friedell also said that beyond the No. 11 pick in the draft and the potential of a midlevel exception. the Warriors don’t have many other options to improve the roster. The Warriors can be better next year. he said—especially if they add LeBron—but their days as a title contender are over with this core.
How much better does LeBron make a team at age 41?
Woike framed James as a problem-solver.
He described LeBron as “the world’s most experienced handyman,” saying the only question is that he can’t do it 82 times anymore. Woike said he used to think at this stage it was best to count on James to win quarters or halves. He said that belief changed when James won a Lakers playoff series.
For Woike, the biggest thing about LeBron is that he can bend his skills to match almost any need.
Friedell agreed on the value, but kept it anchored to how late-career basketball works.
He said any team that acquires LeBron would be getting one of the very best players of all time. But at age 41. Friedell said James “understandably” needs to be on a team where he isn’t the main option—“hello. Steph”—and where there’s enough depth to back him up on nights he doesn’t play or doesn’t get it going.
Friedell’s biggest worry for a Warriors fit was shooting. He said if LeBron. Draymond. and Jimmy share the floor with Steph and whoever else Steve Kerr uses. the lack of shooting would be the threat. He said great players usually figure things out. but he argued this version of LeBron can’t simply use his otherworldly athleticism to get out of trouble—because LeBron is 41 years old.
The argument for the Lakers, the argument for the Warriors
The case for the Warriors starts with spectacle.
Woike said the argument revolves around a national celebration of basketball. He described a scenario where LeBron James and Stephen Curry co-headline at this stage of their Hall-of-Fame careers as “a total spectacle. ” even if the team can’t compete at the top of the West. He said it would be a way for James to finish his career alongside players who helped define an era of basketball.
The case for the Lakers is simpler, and it seems built around what James appears to want most. Woike said it’s in Los Angeles. The games will be meaningful. He said James has a better chance to win. He also said it avoids introducing a fourth team onto his résumé.
In the end, Woike said everything comes down to the number James is willing to stay for.
Friedell closed the debate by making the Warriors pitch feel almost conversational: Come to the Bay. play with Steph and Draymond. Make some new friends in Silicon Valley. Continue to grow business interests. Live in Northern California with “great wine and fantastic golf courses.” Friedell said the Warriors would instantly become the most interesting team in the league—and that LeBron and Steph would finally get a run in the spotlight together.
Between the negotiating window and a market that keeps waving +300, the question isn’t just where LeBron will play next. It’s what version of the end of his career he wants: the certainty of Los Angeles—or the rare. high-drama possibility of finishing in the same spotlight as the player who’s defined an era with him.
LeBron James Los Angeles Lakers Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry Draymond Green free agency BetMGM odds Mike Dunleavy Jr Jimmy Butler injury Moses Moody injury midlevel exception sign-and-trade