LeBron James had an extremely successful season individually, coming within a hair of winning the scoring title and playing more like he’s 27 than 37, but his Los Angeles Lakers had a failure of a season by missing the play-in tournament.
With the four-time MVP heading into the final year of his contract, there have been plenty of rumors that he will basically be a lame-duck Laker next season.
He will be eligible to sign a contract extension later this summer, but during his exit interview, he refused to say anything about whether he’d even be interested in an extension.
Via Lakers Nation:
“The conversation hasn’t been talked about and technically because the Collective Bargaining Agreement cannot be discussed until later on in the year,” LeBron said. “I know it’s out there, but we can’t even, myself and Rich [Paul] can’t even talk with Rob [Pelinka] or the front office at all because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. When we get to that point, we’ll see.”
The way James played this season, one would likely expect him to have at least one more truly elite season left in him, if he’s fortunate enough to stay healthy. After that, he could very well still be an All-Star level player for a few more years.
There’s always a chance that he finds a way to remain elite after turning 40, much like Tom Brady has in the NFL.
But it’s anyone’s guess right now if those years will come in a Laker uniform.