LeBron James Breaks Silence on Trade Speculation After Post on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. When LeBron James exercised his $52.6 million player option to return to the Los Angeles Lakers for his 23rd NBA season, most assumed that there would be no more questions about where he would play next.

LeBron James Sends 1-Word Message After Cavaliers Trade Rumors originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is entering his 23rd NBA season. Exercising his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign, James bypassed the opportunity to become a free agent. That said, his Lakers future is anything but clear.

LeBron James becoming available has, typically, been a seismic NBA event. Teams famously spent the several years leading up to his 2010 free agency clearing cap space. Pretty much all league business halted for the first 11 days of July in 2014 as teams schlepped across the country first to Cleveland and then,