The Los Angeles Lakers believe they found the 'ideal player' to pair with Luka Doncic and LeBron James after the latter posed a warning that he was evaluating all options

Windhorst continued his case by stating that the Lakers never asked James for additional years in their contract talks. As such, James' decision to pick up his player option for next season as opposed to opting out and signing a two-year deal with them might not be what he initially planned:

The Los Angeles Lakers have done one really weird thing since the public began speculating about a possible LeBron James trade. L.A. has yet to acknowledge publicly that James opted-in to his player option for 2025-26 to play the upcoming season for $52.6 million.