Lakers’ reaction to LeBron James opting into 2025–26 NBA season revealed by team executive

LeBron James is set to begin his 23rd season in the NBA and become the longest-tenured player in league history. A few weeks ago, he opted into his player option for the 2025–26 season, and now an executive from the Los Angeles Lakers has explained how the franchise received the news.

“Whenever you sign a player to a deal with an option, you willingly give them the control to initially guide the situation. But this notion that a player option gives the player all of the power is pretty silly,” began an anonymous executive, in a conversation shared by Keith Smith of Spotrac.

“If they opt out, the team is then a partner in re-signing them or not. If they opt in, then the team is a partner in whatever happens next too,” he added. “For LeBron, he had a player option and made his decision to opt in. We’re just happy that he’s still a Laker.”

These comments come amid continued speculation about the future of the four-time NBA champion. It’s still unclear whether this upcoming season will be James’ final one as a professional, and even after opting into his contract, rumors persisted about a possible departure to another team.

Lakers stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

However, so far no franchise has clearly taken concrete steps toward acquiring the forward for the upcoming season. In fact, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, some teams, like the New York Knicks, have shown a lack of interest in making that kind of move involving James.

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The Lakers are building to contend this year

According to reports, one of the key differences between the Lakers and LeBron involved the goals of both sides. James, aware that his time in the NBA is running out, is firmly focused on winning a fifth title. But the Los Angeles team appeared to be more focused on the future.

However, so far this offseason, the Lakers have made moves that significantly improved their roster. The addition of Deandre Ayton was key in addressing the lack of a quality center — a problem that plagued them all of last season. They also brought in Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart, giving head coach JJ Redick more options.

With these changes, the Lakers appear much better equipped to compete in the NBA and, in turn, offer LeBron James a more encouraging outlook regarding the team’s chances in the Western Conference.

The Luka Doncic situation

In the same conversation with Spotrac, the Lakers executive also spoke about the possibility of extending Luka Doncic’s contract. “We aren’t even allowed to do that until next month (August 2nd), so it’s a bit early to talk about that,” he explained. “But Luka and his reps know how we feel about him. They’ve known that since we’ve traded for him. This will hopefully be a long, long partnership between Luka and us.”