REPORTS HAVE LEBRON JAMES SEEKING A NO-TRADE CLAUSE IF HE STAYS WITH THE LAKERS

With the end of the NBA regular season rapidly approaching, it has been clear that LeBron James is not planning on retiring anytime soon. Sure he has brought up retirement a few times this year and famously posted an hourglass emoji in the middle of the season, but did anyone really believe he was walking away from the game on the verge of possibly living out one of his dreams which is to play in the NBA with his son Bronny James.

Now the attention turns to James to see if he will opt out of his current deal, score a no-trade clause, and seek a 2 or 3-year extension with the Lakers or look to bring his talents to another city.

Is James feeling like he is in a New York state of mind?

Here's what the LeBron James whisperer, Brian Windhorst said.

“I think LeBron’s gonna opt out no matter what,” Windhorst said on the April 8 edition of “The Hoop Collective” podcast, which he hosts. “And the reason I think he’s gonna opt out no matter what is even if he just signs back for one year, the only functional way for LeBron to get a no-trade clause is to sign a new contract. If he extends the contract he’s in or picks up that option [and] extends onto it, he can’t get a no-trade clause. And I think — for a number of different reasons — LeBron would like, ask for and probably be granted a no-trade clause.”

“There may be some debate between [James] and the Lakers about whether he should get three years, whether a third year would be a team option or a player option or not guaranteed or whatever,” Windhorst continued. “I think there could be some interesting negotiations back and forth on that.”

Bobby Marks and Dave McMenamin of ESPN laid out James’ contract options on April 5.

"Because of the over-38 rule, no team, including the Lakers, can offer James a contract for more than three seasons if he elects to become a free agent. That restriction should not matter; of the past six contracts James has signed, five have been for three years or less.

Those short-term deals have limited the total value of James’ recent contracts, meaning a new three-year maximum deal — either for $162 million with the Lakers or for $157 million with another team — would represent the largest total contract in James’ career, eclipsing the $154 million, four-year deal he signed with the Lakers in 2018.

James could follow the path from prior years and sign an even shorter deal with the Lakers. A two-year, $104 million contract with a player option on the second season would allow James to hit free agency again next summer."

THE UNDERRATED LINE:
Yes, LeBron is indeed getting old in basketball years, yet he still performing at such a high level that I would be shocked if signed a contract that at the very least didn't keep him in the NBA playing for the Los Angeles Lakers for at least 2 more seasons.