{"id":8773,"date":"2024-12-08T08:29:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T08:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8773"},"modified":"2024-12-08T08:29:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-08T08:29:46","slug":"breaking-lebron-james-drops-reality-bomb-on-lakers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8773","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: LeBron James Drops Reality Bomb on Lakers Future.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2187951579-e1733604480601.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2187951579-e1733604480601.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2187951579-e1733604480601.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-2187951579-e1733604480601.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers\" width=\"780\" height=\"440\" data-img-load-time=\"865576\" data-dom-ready-time=\"349\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Photo by David Berding\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>LeBron James\u00a0is somehow defying the aging process. The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0superstar is 22 days away from his 40th birthday (Dec. 30), yet he continues to dominate on the court.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Dec. 6, LeBron scored his seventh triple-double of the season, but the Lakers suffered their third straight loss, falling to the\u00a0Atlanta Hawks\u00a0134-132. LeBron played 42 minutes, adding further mileage to his aging legs.<\/p>\n<p>When speaking to the media after the game, LeBron confirmed that his time in the NBA is drawing to a close.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d\u00a0LeBron told Spectrum SportsNet. \u201cI just go out there and just play the game the right way. Compete at a high level and leave it all out on the floor every time I go out there. My time is very limited on how long I\u2019ll play. I\u2019m just happy to still be able to play the game that I love.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everybody knows LeBron\u2019s career is in its final chapter. However, it\u2019s hard to pinpoint when he will make the final call, especially as he continues to dominate on the court. Nevertheless, if LeBron is making comments about his inevitable retirement, it\u2019s likely a tool to put pressure on both his teammates and the front office. LeBron has been clear about his desire to win; now, those opportunities have become a finite resource for him.<\/p>\n<p>LeBron is in the first year of a\u00a0two-year $101.3 million contract. He has a player option for next season. As such, if he does decide to step away from basketball at the end of the season, he could simply opt-out of his player option and begin the next phase of his life.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Lakers Could Lose Davis When LeBron Retires<\/h2>\n<p>When the Lakers acquired\u00a0Anthony Davis\u00a0from the\u00a0New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0in 2019, he was seen as the longterm successor to LeBron. Davis is among the best bigs in the NBA. He recently stepped into the role of being the Lakers primary option on offense.<\/p>\n<p>However, according to The Athletic\u2019s Jovan Buha, who was speaking during a recent YouTube video, there\u2019s a chance Davis could look to follow LeBron out of the Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s inconceivable that he asks out. But, I think he\u2019s been pretty happy in L.A., and I think he\u2019s aware of LeBron\u2019s plans,\u201d Buha said. \u201cI also think if he wants out, I think the Lakers should just honor that. Because, it\u2019s like at that point, if LeBron retires maybe it is best to rebuild and just keep your picks. And then, maybe at that point, they have kept their picks and just kind of punted on this season and next season. But I think if I had to lean one way, I\u2019d probably lean toward AD staying, but I would not be surprised if he asked out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"ql-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BR9eXBb92lE?showinfo=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>If the Lakers believe Davis could be a flight risk, they must be smart with their moves at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. They don\u2019t have a wealth of trade assets. Parting with what little they do have on a roster that could be heading for a rebuild would be bad business.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Lakers Could Bridge Rebuild With Brandon Ingram<\/h2>\n<p>According to Jake Fischer, who was writing in a\u00a0recent edition of \u2018The SteinLine Newsletter,\u2019\u00a0the Lakers reportedly hold interest in\u00a0Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans forward was originally\u00a0drafted by the Lakers in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIngram\u2019s first NBA franchise is indeed whispered often by scouts as a potential destination for the next Ingram trade. But, I haven\u2019t been give any indication that the Lakers are looking to pursue him now,\u201d Fischer reported. \u201cAll credible signals circulating about the Lakers suggest that L.A. is looking to fortify its frontcourt and add perimeter defense to assist LeBron James and Anthony Davis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ingram, 27, would be the ideal star to help bridge the gap if the Lakers decide to enter a full-blown rebuild. He is young enough to step into a leading role for JJ Redick\u2019s team. He\u2019s also old enough to have a respected voice within a potentially young lockerroom.<\/p>\n<p>While it remains unlikely that Ingram will make a return to Los Angeles, the Lakers could explore a potential deal if they believe LeBron is planning his retirement party. Ingram makes sense as a bridge player while the front office rebuilds the roster.<\/p>\n<p>Everything depends on what LeBron is planning to do next season. Unfortunately for the front office, it\u2019s unlikely they know the answer to that question, and probably won\u2019t until the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo by David Berding\/Getty Images LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James\u00a0is somehow defying the aging process. The\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0superstar is 22 days away from his 40th&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: LeBron James Drops Reality Bomb on Lakers Future.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=8773\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: LeBron James Drops Reality Bomb on Lakers Future.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photo by David Berding\/Getty Images LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James\u00a0is somehow defying the aging process. 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