Departing from the Los Angeles Lakers has been talked about like a foregone conclusion for LeBron James in the lead-up to the offseason. To some capacity, it is understandable why that is the case. However, the all-time great does have plenty to keep him in Hollywood as well.
Depending on what the next stop of James' career could be, the Lakers may still be the team who can give LeBron the best chance to add a fifth ring. The decision might not even have winning as the key motivating factor. The familial connection in Los Angeles should not be undervalued.
Bronny James is still under contract with the Lakers for the next two years. While Rob Pelinka and the front office could save a little bit of cash by waiving the partially guaranteed deal in the offseason, the reasons to do so are quickly fading.
The young guard has continually shown signs of growth with the Lakers. Perhaps Bronny can even make his case to be in the back end of the rotation next season. While the two James are certainly not inseparable, it is hard to believe there would not be something special to having a full season of both family members regularly playing rotation minutes together.
The James family connection may be too good to give up so easily
LeBron could still have his cake and eat it too when it comes to this matter. If the future Hall of Famer really wants to go elsewhere for the final season of his career, perhaps the Lakers are kind enough to do business in good faith and send Bronny to wherever the next team for the 41-year-old is.
That would be the more complicated scenario.
The path of least resistance involves both James as members of the Lakers next season. That would, of course, involve a lot of sacrifice on LeBron's part. The aging forward would almost certainly need to take a pay cut and perhaps even lessen his role with the team more than what he already has.
That could be the trade-off for getting to run the bench unit minutes with Bronny in 2026-27. It was something LeBron thoroughly enjoyed during the recent 137-130 win over the Indiana Pacers.
"Real, meaningful minutes. I couldn’t dream of better. I couldn’t dream of something better than that. Just couldn’t," LeBron told The Athletic after the game. "... For the coaching staff to trust him tonight, and for him to have significant playing time, ... I couldn’t dream of a better feeling than that."
If Bronny continues on the upward trend everyone is noticing over his first two years with the Lakers, that could be a regular occurrence for the pair in 2026-27. It gives LeBron yet another thing to mull over before making his (final) decision in the summer.