LeBron James Reportedly Thought of Heading to Another NBA Team Before Finalizing Contract With Lakers

LeBron James will be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers for at least two more seasons as he signed a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension with the team this week. However, the NBA superstar considered playing for another team once his contract expired after the 2022-23 season. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, James didn’t find any teams with salary cap space in 2023 appealing enough to decline his extension with the Lakers. 

According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, the teams that will have the most salary cap space in 2023 are the Houston Rockets, Detroit Piston, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic among others. James has said with Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors down the road. 

“In today’s game, s— there’s some m—f— in today’s game, but Steph Curry,” James said on The Shop. “Steph Curry’s the one that I wanna play with for sure, in today’s game. … I love everything about that guy. Lethal. When he get out his car, you better guard him right from the moment he pulls up to the arena. … You might wanna guard him when he get out of the bed. Swear to god. He’s serious.”    

James has been with the Lakers since 2018 and helped the team win the NBA title in 2020. But other than the championship season (also known as a bubble season due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the Lakers haven’t been a dominant team with James as they missed the playoffs twice and lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2021. 

“LeBron is a generational basketball player who has proven to be even more impactful as a human being,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said after James signed his extension. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with him, ensuring he’s a driving force of Lakers culture for years to come. The Lakers platform has proved again and again to be an ideal place for the game’s all-time greats to thrive and achieve. We are thankful LeBron has experienced the power of that. With his transcendent talent, unrivaled passion and dedication to causing powerful change in our society, LeBron continues to cement his legacy in Los Angeles and around the globe.”