LAS VEGAS — Their necks turned away from the court to the baseline opposite the Los Angeles Lakers bench toward LeBron James, the center of the attention Saturday night, as he has been since he opted in to the final year of his contract earlier this summer.
Everyone was looking, searching for signs as to what James has planned for himself for his upcoming 23rd season or for what the Lakers have in store for him.
The relationship between the league’s all-time leading scorer and the franchise set to pay him $52.6 million is in a rocky space. James, still incredibly productive far beyond any rational plan for a player this deep into his career, will be an unrestricted free agent after this year. Rival scouts and executives have pitched all kinds of scenarios that have James playing somewhere else this upcoming season, either via trade or maybe even buyout, a trend that has exploded this summer as teams struggle to build rosters under restrictive salary-cap rules.
Saturday, if there was any hostility between the organization and James, it never showed up in any obvious ways. He arrived with his wife, Savannah, daughter, Zhuri, and a group of his closest friends. James arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday morning after attending a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico on Friday night.
James sat near Lakers assistant Greg St. Jean for most of the third quarter. Earlier, he spoke with other members of the coaching staff in attendance, a group that included assistants Nate McMillan and Bob Beyer, and teammate Dalton Knecht, who didn’t dress after playing in four games with the summer league team over the past four weeks.
James nodded encouragingly after 2019 first-round pick Darius Bazley attacked the basket and when rookie Arthur Kaluma had a tough finish in the paint. A team official gave James a printed box score between quarters, and the team’s social media account posted a photo of him sitting courtside.
💜💛 We handed LeBron a @Lakers wristband… and he passed it straight to his baby girl. 🥹👑
Family. Legacy. Love for the game — shared in the smallest moments. pic.twitter.com/Sej3rL5I60
— NBA Summer League (@NBASummerLeague) July 13, 2025
And when Bronny James spotted up in the corner, LeBron shouted “knock it down” before the second-year Lakers guard swished home the 3.
Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick are expected in Las Vegas for the Lakers’ next game on Monday. Kurt and Linda Rambis were at Saturday’s game. Thursday, in the Lakers’ summer league opener, Linda Rambis sat next to Savannah James courtside.
James left midway through the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ 94-81 win against the New Orleans Pelicans. Cole Swider led the Lakers with 21 points. Bronny James scored 14 and helped harass Pelicans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears into a 5-for-21 shooting night.
All of the questions about LeBron’s future have come from a statement his agent, Rich Paul, gave after James decided to pick up his contract instead of entering free agency or renegotiating this summer.
“LeBron knows the Lakers are building for the future, and he also wants to compete for championships,” Paul told The Athletic after James opted in on June 29. “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie (Buss) and Rob (Pelinka) and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
Much of the tension appears to stem from the Lakers’ desire to keep their salary-cap sheet as clear as possible starting next summer, allowing them to find Luka Dončić’s future partner either in free agency or via trade, when they’ll have access to use first-round picks in 2026, 2031 and 2033 for a single trade.
The Lakers’ commitment to that plan is set to collide with James’ ability to still play All-NBA basketball deeper into his career than ever before in league history. This past season, James played in 70 games, averaging 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists.
(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)
