The Los Angeles Lakers have made one thing crystal clear: if LeBron James wants to keep playing, they want him wearing purple and gold.
General Manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick publicly reaffirmed their commitment to the NBA's all-time leading scorer on Tuesday, just one day after the Lakers' season ended with a tough 115-110 loss to the powerhouse Oklahoma City Thunder. The defeat completed a second-round sweep, closing the book on James' eighth season with the franchise.
At 41 years old, James has just finished his unprecedented 23rd NBA season. And while he's not sure if he'll continue, the Lakers are leaving the door wide open.
"Any team, including ours, would love to have LeBron James on their roster," Pelinka said. "That's a blessing in itself, just with what he does."
This offseason, James becomes an unrestricted free agent—meaning he can choose his next destination if he decides to postpone retirement for another year. Not every team has the financial flexibility to pay him near his worth, but the Lakers do. With significant salary cap room and plenty of decisions ahead, Los Angeles is hoping James will stay and help build a championship contender around Luka Doncic.
"He's given so much to his teammates, to this organization, and the thing we want to do more than anything else is honor him back," Pelinka said.
That means giving James all the time he needs. Pelinka emphasized the Lakers' desire to "honor" James' decision process, even if it takes weeks.
"The first order of business there is allowing him to spend the time he needs to decide what his next steps are," Pelinka explained. "Does he want to play another year in the NBA? That'll be determined through family time, time with his inner circle, and we just want to honor that for him."
James is now in his longest continuous stint with one team—eight seasons—and his family is happily settled in Los Angeles. He's already won a championship and set multiple NBA career records while wearing a Lakers uniform. Now, the question is whether he'll run it back alongside Doncic for another shot at glory.