NBA Rumors: According to a recent report, the offseason goal for LeBron James might have just been revealed.
Heading into the offseason, no matter how this season ends for the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the bigger storylines will revolve around LeBron James and his future. Even though LeBron is already 39 years old, I don't think anyone envisions he's going to retire after this season. Instead, the narrative heading into the offseason will revolve around where LeBron will decide to end his illustrious NBA career.
While there have been some wild ideas out there, even one that noted the Golden State Warriors' interest in possibly trading for LeBron, there could already be a plan in place for when the summer rolls around. And those plans may have been tipped by a longtime NBA insider.
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, he believes that LeBron is angling toward signing a huge multi-year deal to re-up with the Lakers this offseason. There may be more to LeBron's offseason plans, perhaps including pressuring or strongly encouraging the Lakers to add another star player, but it would make the most sense for him to re-sign with the Lakers.
LeBron James will likely finish his career in Los Angeles
The rumors are fun and allow your imagination to run wild, but it never made too much sense for LeBron to leave Los Angeles for another franchise. It's hard to envision LeBron joining another team that isn't the Denver Nuggets or Boston Celtics in the NBA that would immediately make them the favorites to win the NBA Championship. You can make the case for a few other teams but the majority of them are unrealistic. LeBron is not going to sign in Oklahoma City or Minnesota; save that.
From multiple standpoints, LeBron re-signing with the Lakers also seemed to be in the cards. All the noise around other possible plans is likely an avenue to help push the Lakers toward adding another superstar piece in an attempt to put LeBron in the best position to win another title.
Either way, it seems as if there's an expectation that even if LeBron does end up opting out of the final year of his contract he's likely to re-sign with the team. Even though that may not be the most exciting outcome for the offseason, it's also the one that probably makes the most sense at this point in his career.