LeBron James To Warriors? Celtics? Next-Team Odds For NBA Legend

The NBA conference finals haven't even finished, and we're already doing the LeBron James offseason drama.

James' Lakers were on the wrong end of a decisive sweep in the Western Conference finals, as Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets sent Los Angeles packing. After the Nuggets put the finishing touches on the sweep with a Game 4 win in LA, James -- who scored 40 points in his team's final game of the season -- raised some eyebrows with his postgame admission that he'd consider retirement this summer.

It wouldn't be shocking to see James walk away. He's 38 years old and when you count the playoffs, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has logged more minutes in NBA history than James. He has endless business opportunities he could pursue in a post-playing career, as well, and if he decides he's had enough, no one would blame him.

But does anyone really believe James is done? Given all we know about him, wouldn't it make more sense for James to make a preseason announcement that he'd retire at season's end so he could have a nice little farewell tour? He still believes he can play, too.

While it's possible James truly wants to time and think, it's just as likely there's a bit of a power play at work here.

James is under contract for next season with a player option for the following campaign. No one in the NBA yields more power than James, so if he wants out of Los Angeles -- especially if the Lakers aren't able to improve the roster around him -- James trying to force a trade is conceivable.

PointsBet Sportsbook earlier this week opened odds for which team LeBron would play for in the 2023-24 season. The Lakers were the unsurprising favorite, but there were some interesting options near the top of the list, too.

(Odds are only available in Illinois right now, so this is mostly hypothetical.)

Next NBA team LeBron James will play for (2023-24)
Lakers -700
No team/retire +500
Cleveland Cavaliers +1200
Golden State Warriors +1500
New York Knicks +1500
Miami Heat +1500
Los Angeles Clippers +2000
Philadelphia 76ers +2000
Dallas Mavericks +2000
Phoenix Suns +2000
Sacramento Kings +3000
Milwaukee Bucks +5000
Chicago Bulls +5000
Boston Celtics +5000

If James left the Lakers, any of the other clubs would make for a fascinating situation in 2023-24, but these three options stand out above the rest:

Warriors (+1500): This would be absolutely bananas. We're not going to pretend to know how Golden State would make this work, but putting James on a team with Stephen Curry would instantly resurrect the superteam idea. James said in the past he would enjoy playing on the Warriors, especially getting the chance to team with Curry. He's good friends with Draymond Green, as well. Klay Thompson could be collateral damage in a trade return, but this new big three would certainly be the title favorite.

Suns (+2000): Again, it's hard to say what a trade would look like, but you have to imagine Phoenix makes this move with the intention of pairing James with Kevin Durant. Could Phoenix do it without giving up Durant or Devin Booker? Perhaps, especially with a trade package centered around DeAndre Ayton. It would also give James a chance to team up with Chris Paul, though we've already seen speculation the Lakers could just try to trade for Paul and pair him with James in LA.

Celtics (+5000): Let's get weird! It's admittedly hard to imagine James wanting to play in Boston for a variety of reasons, but it would be a fun way for him to close out his career. If the Celtics can't pull a miracle comeback against Miami in the East finals, anything and everything should be on the table this summer as it pertains to roster changes. Blowing it all up for a 38-year-old James isn't exactly the best course of action, but finding a way to pair the battle-tested legend with a player like Jayson Tatum could certainly benefit the latter in both the short and long term. It's a long shot for a reason, though.