In a first-round game of the NBA playoffs that ended today, the Denver Nuggets at home relied on Jamal Murray's quasi-stunner to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-106 and successfully reached the Western Conference semifinals with a total score of 4-1. As soon as the whistle blew at the end of the game, Lakers superstar LeBron James walked straight to the players' tunnel without looking back, and did not stay with his teammates to greet the opponent who advanced, as is traditional, which also sparked speculation about his future plans, because it was obvious that James's face was full of unhappiness.
James is averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game with the Lakers this season, while the 39-year-old is shooting a career-high 41 percent from three-point range this season. James brought the Lakers their 17th championship in franchise history in the 2019-20 season, but now James and the Lakers are once again in front of the Nuggets.
ESPN's ace reporter Brian Windhorst recently broke his opinion on James' upcoming free agent decision, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has a whopping $51.4 million player option next season, and according to Windhorst, he believes James will choose to jump out of contract and eventually sign a new contract back to the Los Angeles Lakers.
"I don't think James is going to retire, I think he's going to play at least another season, I don't really think he's going to leave the Lakers, but I think he's going to choose to jump out of contract because Bronny is about to start the draft and he's going to keep himself in the driver's seat and flexible," Windhorst said. ”
In addition to Windhorst's views on James' future options, James' agent, Rich Paul, recently said he thinks James may have two or three years left: "He's had an incredible career, I think we'll see him next year, but how many more after that? I don't know, but I think he probably has two or three years left." ”
And in March of this year, James himself talked about his plans for the future, and he made it clear that he has little time left to play in the NBA: "I definitely won't play another 21 years, not for a long time. I don't know when this door will close or when I'll retire, but I really don't have much time left. ”
Despite being 39 years old, James hasn't shown any signs of slowing down his pace since entering the NBA league in 2003, with the four-time NBA champion making NBA history by being named to his 20th career All-Star this season. In addition, he played in 71 regular-season games this season, which was also James' highest attendance since the 2017-18 season.
Recently, Golden State Warriors All-Star power forward Draymond Green spoke on his podcast about James wanting to win another championship before retiring: "For the Lakers right now, I don't think James will have a chance here, I think it's going to be tough. But can James win a championship at his current level? Absolutely, just in a different place. ”
Assuming James still chooses to re-sign a contract with the Lakers, then the Lakers are likely to be the team from which James retired. Although the team still made the playoffs this season, since winning the championship in 2020, their situation has been that Wang Xiaoer has been in the New Year - every year has not been as good as the year, and since then the Lakers have only made it past the first round of the playoffs last season, but were eventually swept by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.
Due to the increasingly fierce competition in the West, it can be said that it is very difficult for James to add another championship ring, especially if he stays with the Lakers, but as long as James is healthy, he must have the possibility of winning the championship. In addition to the contract amount, James reportedly wants to add a trade veto clause to the new contract, which will give players the opportunity to decide their own fate anytime and anywhere, and only Suns All-Star guard Bradley Beal has this clause, and then it will be up to the Lakers to satisfy James' appetite.