5 Lakers whose futures are up in the air this offseason

LeBron James

The make or break factor for LA this offseason, LeBron James is at a crossroads in his career. When he initially joined the Lakers in 2018, he was coming off eight consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and was still unquestionably one of the best players in the association.

It was of course a home run for the Lake Show to land LeBron's services six years ago, and pairing Anthony Davis up with him produced a championship-winning duo. But six years later, things have changed and LeBron is not nearly the player he was coming off his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Make no mistake about it, James is still outperforming expectations and playing at an All-Star level at age 39, which is flat-out remarkable. However, he is no longer at a point where he can will a team to the Finals like he did year after year in the admittedly weaker Eastern Conference.

As such, LeBron has a decision to make. He can opt into the final year of his Lakers contract, or pursue something new elsewhere to ride out the final year or two of his NBA career. How much LeBron desires to play next to his son Bronny next season will undoubtedly play a large role in his decision.