LeBron James had Los Angeles Lakers fans annoyed when he recently suggested during his Mind the Game podcast that he might take until August to decide on his future. August?! Like ... two months before the new season? But the Lakers have a roster to build! This is a terrible timeline for a LeBron decision! ... Such were the reactions from Lakers Nation (all of them valid).
Without knowing what's happening with LeBron, it would be difficult for Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka to dive headfirst into the offseason and properly construct a (hopefully) improved Lakers roster around Luka Doncic.
Luckily, there's some new intel from ESPN's Brian Windhorst pointing to an earlier date than sometime in August for a LeBron decision. Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Windhorst actually mentioned a specific deadline.
We might find out LeBron James' Lakers future this month
"Every dollar [the Lakers] give to LeBron, they can't give to another free agent," Windhorst said. "But there has to be a number in there that respects LeBron, and that gives the Lakers a chance to still improve their roster. And I believe they'll get there. But it may not happen until June 30. We could have three weeks of posturing between now and then."
"Posturing" was an interesting word choice from Windhorst, but from the sound of it, that's exactly what the Lakers and LeBron's reps are doing at the moment, as any concrete talks have not begun. According to Windhorst, the two sides haven't exchanged figures yet, but they've "exchanged postures", and it sounds like the beginning stages of negotiations are underway.
And why shouldn't negotiations be underway? On June 11, it'll be a month since the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs, and it'll be less than two weeks before the NBA Draft. The time is now to start roster-building, and you can bet that Pelinka's already been on the phone discussing trades, free agent targets, and the like.
Will this posturing standoff between LeBron's camp and the Lakers' front office evolve into productive discussions and culminate in a decision before June is over, as Windhorst estimated? It's worth noting that Windhorst pinpointed June 15 as a deadline a couple of months ago; so there's no telling whether he'll move the goalposts back again in the next week or two.
At any rate, a LeBron decision doesn't sound likely to be delayed too far into July (at the latest), based on common sense and based on everything Windhorst is explaining. The sooner, the better. Pelinka has a lot of work to do this summer.
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