LeBron ‘Not That Guy’ For Lakers Anymore, But What’s Next?

What was once a loving relationship between the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James has turned colder in recent months. The Lakers haven’t offered James, 40, a contract extension, meaning he’s not tied to LA past the current season. Rumors have surfaced that LeBron and his team are miffed about the lack of extension, and Bron’s weird demeanor on the Lakers’ bench hasn’t done much to put those rumors to bed.

The Lakers have obviously moved onto the Luka Dončić era. Everyone knows it, including LeBron. The Lakers don’t need LeBron to sell tickets anymore. It also appears — nine games into the 2025-26 NBA season — that they don’t need LeBron to win games, either. Luka, Austin Reaves, and others have powered LA to a 7-2 start.

With the LeBron-less Lakers looking entertaining, competitive, and fun, many fans and analysts are speculating that LeBron’s return (which could happen in November or December) will interrupt the good vibes. 

ESPN’s Kenny Smith recently discussed the difficulties involved with LeBron, Luka, and Reaves co-existing once Bron returns to the court.

“What is gonna be the most interesting part is (to see what happens) when LeBron comes back,” Smith said.

“Because the two guys who’ve had the most success while he’s out (Dončić and Reaves), they’re very ball dominant. So they need the basketball to make plays. … You can’t have three (ball-dominant players) … So it’s going to be interesting to see what LeBron does and how he slides in.”

An even more interesting take on the LeBron situation came from FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd this week. Cowherd delved more into the deeper conflicts involved with LeBron’s relationship with the Lakers’ culture and his legacy in LA.

“My least favorite quality in men is high maintenance and neediness, and I’m not saying LeBron’s doing that, but … there’s some supposition that LeBron has his feelings hurt because he hasn’t been offered an extension,” Cowherd said.

“I don’t know if that’s true or not,” Cowherd continued, (but) I think LeBron’s smart enough to know the torch has been passed in LA … it’s Luka’s team.”

“I also feel like the league has a little bit of LeBron fatigue,” Cowherd added, while also indicating that LeBron has never been as popular amongst Lakers fans as Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant were. “LeBron’s gonna (have to) fall in line (in LA) or leave. … Because LA welcomed LeBron. They didn’t worship him. … In my lifetime, Magic’s the most popular Laker of all time. Kobe’s the second most popular Laker of all time. Nobody’s going to lose any sleep (in the Lakers’ front office) if they’re a little less loyal to LeBron than LeBron wants.”

The bigger question in all of this is, would the Lakers consider trading LeBron before the February 6 deadline, to ensure that they get some value back for Bron before he possibly leaves in free agency?

It’ll be an interesting narrative to follow, but it’s clear that the LeBron era is over in LA.