LeBron James has already made the Lakers irrelevant to his next move.
That’s the real takeaway from ESPN’s Shams Charania report on Tuesday, which said James has told Los Angeles it can move forward without him for the 2026-27 NBA season. The announcement doesn’t come with a grand TV special or a dramatic stage reveal, but it does set off the kind of league-wide scramble only LeBron can create.
For now, the rumor mill is pointed in several directions. Golden State is drawing the loudest buzz, with reports suggesting James would want Anthony Davis to join him there if that path ever became real. That would be the tougher piece to solve, but the idea of James and Stephen Curry in the same backcourt is enough to keep the Warriors in the center of the conversation.
Cleveland is still there, too. The Cavaliers remain in the mix as James’ hometown team, which keeps alive the possibility of a second return home.
Would he actually do it again? That’s the question hanging over any talk of a reunion.
Then there’s San Antonio, a destination that Bill Simmons recently described as the most “fun” possibility. LeBron and Wemby? Just the idea has enough juice to make the Spurs one of the more eye-catching possibilities on the board.
Charania’s report didn’t point to any preference from James, only that the Lakers were far enough down the list for him to move on now. That’s a major shift, even if it comes after he already delivered a championship in Los Angeles.
So the Lakers are left with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, while James’ future heads somewhere else entirely.
The crown is on the move. Its next kingdom isn’t clear.
In Other News...
Celtics Just Made A Quiet Offseason Call On Two Young Picks
The offseason paperwork game has already started across the league, and the Spurs are part of it after sorting through a few roster decisions ahead of free agency. While some teams are simply choosing whether to keep a players NBA rights or let him hit the market, San Antonio has taken a more active step with two young pieces who spent time on two-way deals and now sit in a more protected spot entering the next phase of the summer.
Harrison Ingram and David Jones Garcia both received qualifying offers from the Spurs, which makes each of them a restricted free agent and keeps the team in position to match outside interest if it comes. The offers are structured differently, with Jones Garcia set up on another one-year two-way deal and Ingram on a standard one-year minimum-salary contract with some partial guarantee attached, a small but meaningful signal that San Antonio sees enough in both players to stay involved in what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Could Be Near A Major Roster And Staff Decision
The Pelicans appear to have at least one offseason item already taking shape with Saddiq Bey. Bey and New Orleans have mutual interest in working toward a contract extension, and the forward becomes extension-eligible on July 11, giving the front office a clear date to circle as it sorts out the next phase of the roster under new head coach Jamahl Mosley.
There is also movement on the sideline, where assistant coach Jodie Meeks is not expected to return next season. For a Spurs team watching the Western Conference landscape and its familiar rivals, the broader roster and staff churn in New Orleans is another reminder that the offseason can reshape a contenders path as much as any trade or draft pick. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Just Sent A Telling Message About Their Wembanyama Timeline
The Spurs offseason approach has been about keeping the outline of the roster intact while leaving themselves room to react, and the latest contract decisions fit that perfectly. Julian Champagnie passed up the chance to play out the final year of his deal in favor of a longer stay, while Harrison Barnes opted for a shorter commitment that keeps both sides flexible as San Antonio builds around Victor Wembanyamas rise.
For a team that is still threading the needle between development and contention, that mix matters. The Spurs entered free agency with significant cap space and a clear preference for preserving options, which suggests the front office is not trying to force the timeline so much as manage it carefully. The bigger question now is how far they push that flexibility before the roster starts to look less like a placeholder and more like a finished product. [Read more 🡒]