Through all the rumors and speculation, it rarely felt truly real that LeBron James would seriously depart from the Los Angeles Lakers this summer. That all flipped on its head when Shams Charania dropped a bombshell of a scoop on Tuesday morning.
"BREAKING: LeBron James will continue his NBA career for the 2026-27 season and has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that the franchise can move on without him because he will play elsewhere, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN."
Dave McMenamin added a little bit more on top of the initial piece of breaking news. The ESPN insider reported that a source close to James stated 'it was time to move on.'
Opinions on what the best course of action was with James in free agency were polarizing. Some will celebrate the added cap space and opportunity to retool properly around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. With the Lakers firmly pivoting to that type of roster makeover, they are suddenly in desperate need of extra ball-handling and self-creation after LeBron's decision to leave.
Lakers need more offensive creation with LeBron James leaving
Doncic is undoubtedly one of the best offensive engines in the NBA. The problem here is the Lakers really do not want to run him into the ground.
Luka already led the NBA in usage percentage last season at a figure of 38.1. That was with James in the building to support the offense.
With LeBron leaving, there is an immediate increase in the load that is expected of Doncic and Reaves. If the Lakers do not want to end up in a position where those two are first and second in usage percentage next season, they will need that added ball-handling and self-creation on the perimeter.
Revamping the frontcourt may still be priority number one in Los Angeles. Adding two-way wings around Doncic and Reaves remains the second most important concern. The new need for added players who can relieve them of on-ball duties immediately slides up to join that top three.
Doncic and Reaves both dealt with injuries throughout the 2025-26 season. When they were unavailable, James was around to accept an increased role in on-ball responsibilities. That added insurance no longer exists on the roster in the form of the aging star.
That means the Lakers will need to find it in at least one or two other guys they bring in via free agency or trade. Otherwise, they would be setting themselves up to fail after James' exit from Los Angeles.
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