Lakers prepared to move on from $101 million star this summer, report says

Jan 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at midcourt at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

While the 2026 offseason is months away, it’s still worth noting that the Los Angeles Lakers will have two pivotal decisions to make. 

Will Los Angeles be willing to pay Austin Reaves what he’s worth? And will the Lakers bring back their declining 41-year-old superstar for another season?

Regarding the latter, the Stein Line’s Jake Fischer recently reported that the franchise is prepared to move on from the four-time NBA champion and start a new era of basketball in Los Angeles.

“The Lakers are ready to move on from LeBron James, and I think LeBron James is ready to move on from the Lakers as well,” Fischer said Monday. 

James has competed with the Lakers longer than he likely anticipated. The former Cleveland Cavaliers superstar joined Los Angeles in 2018 via a free agency signing and guided the organization to a title during his second season. 

However, things haven’t been the same since the Lakers’ 2020 bubble championship, as the franchise has yet to orchestrate another title run and James has slowly begun to trend downward. 

The 22-time All-Star is highly productive in his early 40s, averaging 21.9 points, 6.6 assists, and 5.8 rebounds per game in 31 outings with the Lakers this season. 

That said, James’ perimeter and low-post defense have fallen off a cliff, and he’s on pace to endure one of the worst three-point shooting seasons of his Lakers tenure (he’s only connecting on 32.9% of his long-range jumpers).
It appears time for the Lakers to hand off the keys to Luka Doncic and end his partnership with James for good.