Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James may have been noncommittal about his future after the Los Angeles Lakers' first-round playoff loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his son reportedly provided some hints.

"I talked to Bronny about his favorite memories from the year and he mentioned the surreal idea of going to work with his dad and he said 'I look forward to that for years to come,'" ESPN's Dave McMenamin said during an appearance on Thursday's episode of The Dan Patrick Show:

McMenamin's report comes after ESPN's Shams Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show that his "understanding" is James will be back for at least one more season:

That is anything but surprising, as the King has a $52.6 million player option for next season.

Still, it was a topic of discussion surrounding the 40-year-old following Wednesday's loss.

"I don't know," James told reporters when asked how long he plans to continue playing. "I don't have an answer to that. Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play.

"I don't know the answer to that right now, to be honest. So we'll see."

Los Angeles selected Bronny James in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft in a move that certainly seemed to be directed at keeping his father happy and around seeing how the younger James averaged just 4.8 points per game in his one season at USC.

Bronny James has two more years on his deal with the Lakers before a club option in 2027-28, so the opportunity is there for their partnership to continue well beyond this season.

The future Hall of Famer's longevity is astounding at this point, as he just finished his 22nd season while still playing at a high level and averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game as he helped lead the Lakers to the playoffs.

While he isn't as dominant as he was at his peak, he looked like someone who can continue playing at an All-Star level for the foreseeable future.

And it seems like that is what his son expects to happen.

Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka confirmed what most expected Thursday regarding his plans for the offseason.

According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Pelinka announced his intention to address the team's frontcourt concerns, saying: "One of our primary goals is going to be to add size in the frontcourt at the center position."

Pelinka's comments came one day after the Lakers were ousted in the first round of the NBA playoffs, falling 103-96 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, which knocked them out in five games.

L.A. started the season with a core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, but Pelinka shook things up in February when he pulled off one of the most shocking trades in recent NBA history.

He agreed to send Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks for a package headlined by superstar guard Luka Dončić.

That arguably gave the Lakers two of the best players in the NBA between LeBron and Dončić, but it also left a huge hole in the frontcourt due to the departure of Davis.

AD is a future Hall of Famer and 10-time All-Star, and he is a huge reason why the Lakers won their most recent championship in 2020.

He missed significant time due to injuries throughout his Lakers tenure, but when he was healthy, Davis was a difference-maker and a matchup problem.

After the trade, Pelinka seemed to fully realize that another move was needed in order to replace some of what was lost with Davis, particularly on the defensive end.

That led to him agreeing to a trade that would have sent rookie guard Dalton Knecht and Cam Reddish to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams.

However, the trade was rescinded after Williams failed a physical, and since the trade deadline had passed by the time it happened, Pelinka was unable to pivot.

As a result, the Lakers entered the playoffs with a starting frontcourt of Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith, while Maxi Kleber, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes and Alex Len came off the bench.

With Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle in featured roles, the T-Wolves had a huge size advantage over the Lakers, and it showed during their playoff series.

In Game 5 alone, Gobert dominated the Lakers to the tune of 24 rebounds and Minnesota won the rebounding battle 54-37 as a team.

If James decides to keep playing, he will return alongside Dončić and Reaves next season, giving the Lakers one of the best trios in the NBA.

However, it is clear that Pelinka realizes more effective frontcourt play is needed in order to give them a chance to go on a deep playoff run and vie for a title.

Starting the offseason sooner than anticipated, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka is going to do everything in his power to build a championship roster around LeBron James.

Speaking to reporters Thursday in the aftermath of the Lakers' 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round series, Pelinka said they will do "whatever we can" to meet the roster expectations of the 40-year-old superstar next season.

Pelinka's comment is in response to James saying after Wednesday's season-ending loss that he wasn't sure "what the roster will look like next year besides the guys that [are] locked into contracts" (starts at 4:50 mark).

It is notable that Pelinka was speaking with confidence about James returning to the Lakers. He does have a $52.6 million player option for next season and talked about not knowing how much longer he will keep playing.

There's no indication that James would leave the Lakers if he were to become a free agent this summer. He even alluded to staying in L.A. while speaking to ESPN's Dave McMenamin on Wednesday night.

"Just continuing to play, I don't know where I'm at," James said. "That's what that is. Not coming back to play here. Just playing, period."

It's hard to find anyone who will believe James is going to retire this offseason coming off a terrific 2024-25 campaign, but there are a lot of big decisions facing the Lakers this summer.

In addition to possibly needing to extend James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are eligible to sign new deals this summer. Dorian Finney-Smith is their highest-profile free agent, not including James.

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, the Lakers will only have the $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception available, assuming James stays with the team. They will be able to aggregate contracts in trades since they are only into the first tax apron.

Depth and finding a starting center will be the two biggest priorities for Pelinka and the front office. The lack of both really played a huge difference in the series against the Timberwolves.

Jaxson Hayes, who has been the starting center since Anthony Davis was traded, didn't play at all on Wednesday and was on the court for fewer than 10 minutes in each of the first four games.

Head coach JJ Redick didn't trust his bench to the point he played his entire starting five all 24 minutes of the second half in Game 4.

If James is back with the Lakers, the hardest part of the job is done with him and Dončić as their top two players. Reaves really took off down the stretch this season playing alongside that duo.

The Lakers won 50 games this season with a roster that had significant turnover midway through the year and altered everything about how they play. This team could easily be a title contender in 2025-26.

The Los Angeles Lakers will have a long offseason after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Which means they will have plenty of time to get in better shape.

"We have to get in championship shape," head coach JJ Redick told reporters Thursday. Redick did note that some players were in "phenomenal" shape despite stressing the need for the collective to improve their conditioning.

The Lakers' fourth-quarter struggles were a major talking point during their loss to the Timberwolves, and players improving their conditioning would help them take strides in that area in 2025-26.

Redick didn't make a single substitution in the second half of his team's Game 4 loss and became the first head coach to use the same five players for a full half of a postseason contest since such statistics were tracked starting in 1998.

That proved to be problematic, as the Purple and Gold were outscored 32-19 and shot 5-of-18 from the field in that fourth quarter.

Legs might have been a carryover issue in Wednesday's Game 5, as Minnesota held the Purple and Gold to an ugly 16 points in the fourth quarter when their season was on the line. Los Angeles still only lost the game by seven in part because the Timberwolves also struggled on the offensive end.

Minnesota shot 7-of-47 (14.9 percent) from deep but still managed to win.

The fourth-quarter issues were surely on the forefront of Redick's mind when he was talking about the need to improve conditioning Thursday, but it was also a topic of conversation surrounding Luka Dončić after the Dallas Mavericks traded him to the Lakers earlier this season.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported in February there was "significant frustration within the organization about Dončić's lack of discipline regarding his diet and conditioning, which team sources considered a major factor in his injury issues.

"Though Dončić was relatively lean by his standards when he reported to camp, his weight ballooned to the high 260s early this season, sources said," McMenamin wrote. "He sat out five games in late November, when the Mavericks listed him with a sprained right wrist, an extended absence to allow Dončić to focus on his conditioning. He had a similar early-season layoff in the 2022-23 season."

Redick didn't mention Dončić by name, but it wouldn't be surprising if the five-time All-Star was someone the head coach was thinking about when he made those comments.

Does anybody really expect that losing in the first round of the NBA playoffs in five games will be LeBron James' last act in the NBA?

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show that his "understanding" is James will return for another season, perhaps by triggering his $52.6 million player option.

Not surprisingly, LeBron was noncommittal when asked about his future immediately after Los Angeles' series-ending 103-96 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"I don't know," he told reporters. "I don't have an answer to that. Something I'll sit down with my family, my wife and my support group and kind of just talk through it and see what happens. And just have a conversation with myself on how long I want to continue to play."

Unlike last year, there isn't one tangible factor that points to a clear outcome regarding his playing status.

When James had long stated the goal of teaming up with son Bronny in the NBA, he wasn't going to walk away right as Bronny was entering the league. Now, it's at least a little easier to buy into the idea he could finally retire.

But the 21-time All-Star would be leaving a lot of money on the table. In addition, he continues to perform at a high level and should feel more optimistic about the Lakers' direction than he did at this same time last spring.

From the moment the trade happened, most could see Los Angeles shifted its timeline by swapping Anthony Davis for Luka Dončić. Dončić is six years younger than Davis, and more importantly, AD's departure exacerbated one of the team's biggest issues. L.A.'s lack of interior protection was exposed again and again by Minnesota.

Beyond having Dončić on the roster for a full season, general manager Rob Pelinka has all summer to find the center the Lakers desperately need, along with some athleticism on the wing.

Maybe James doesn't want to wait for reinforcements to arrive, or he's simply ready to hang it up after 22 seasons.

Based on Charania's report, though, King James isn't hanging up the crown just yet.

The Los Angeles Lakers are bound to have a busy offseason following their first-round exit from the 2025 NBA playoffs. Dealing guard Austin Reaves may not be part of those plans.

Immediately after Los Angeles' 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, The Athletic's Jovan Buha said he "would temper expectations" from fans who want to trade Reaves this summer.

"I don't think the Lakers will," he said. "As of my current intel, I don't think that's gonna happen."

Reaves would certainly have value to another team. He averaged 20.2 points and 5.8 assists and shot 37.7 percent from beyond the arc during the regular season.

The 26-year-old's $13.9 million salary is also a bargain for 2025-26, though he's only a year out from getting a much bigger payday because he can opt out in 2026.

There's no getting around the fact that Reaves didn't play well in the opening round; he admitted it. He averaged 16.2 points per game in the series and didn't perform up to the standard required to be a third star behind LeBron James and Luka Dončić.

It's probably safe to assume James and Dončić are the only two untouchable pieces on the roster. In the case of Reaves, a blockbuster trade for a marquee star would likely require his inclusion.

The choice general manager Rob Pelinka will have to make is whether a transaction of that magnitude is better than keeping Reaves and using draft assets and salary filler on smaller upgrades.

After being eliminated from the playoffs in Wednesday's Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers are staring at a costly offseason.

ESPN's Bobby Marks explained that in addition to LeBron James' $52.6 million player option, the Lakers could be on the hook for Luka Doncic's big-money contract extension.

"Doncic is not a free agent but is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $229 million extension on Aug. 2," Marks wrote. "In the unlikely scenario a contract is not reached, Doncic will become a free agent in the summer of 2026."

Marks also noted that Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves is eligible for a contract extension this summer and can become a free agent next offseason if one isn't reached.

The Lakers acquired Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks in hopes of giving James a better chance to earn a fifth career NBA championship. Despite achieving the No. 3 seed in the West, the top-heavy roster was unable to keep up with the depth of the No. 6 Timberwolves before being upset in the first round of the playoffs.

Doncic, who dealt with an illness during the postseason, led the Lakers with an average of 30.2 points across the five-game series. However, his average of 5.8 assists was a career-low in the playoffs.

Despite the disappointing finish, it would be a massive surprise if Los Angeles didn't make a long-term commitment to Doncic. The 26-year-old is expected to assume the mantle as the face of the franchise when James retires, so the Lakers likely will be building their future around him.

After his 21st NBA season disappointingly ended with a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James still has fond memories of the 2024-25 campaign because he got to spend it alongside his son, Bronny James.

After Wednesday night's 103-96 loss in Game 5, James was asked where he would rank being teammates with his son in his list of career accomplishments, and he had a definitive answer.

"Number one, for sure, that's easy, it's not even close," James told reporters at the 7:19 mark. "To be able to play the game that I love and to be able to be along with my son this whole year has been one of the most gratifying, satisfying journeys I've ever been on."

Bronny James was selected with a second-round pick in the 2024 draft to fulfill the 40-year-old's longtime goal of sharing the floor with his son. The 20-year-old endured some early struggles and played sparingly while he was with the Lakers, but he still created some memorable moments, such as when he didn't back down against Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Bronny James had more of an opportunity to show his skills in the G League. In 11 appearances for the South Bay Lakers, he averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.9 steals. He had a 39-point performance in a win over the Santa Cruz Warriors in March.

The elder James is confident that his son has what it takes to be successful in the NBA, both because of his basketball skills and because of his positive attitude.

"He has a bright future, because not only can he play the game of basketball, he's just a great f--king kid. You can ask anybody, any one of his teammates, any one of the coaches, he's just a joy to be around. And I have to say, I had a lot to do with that," James said with a smile.

If an NBA head coach's job security is determined by what the team's star players think of them, JJ Redick is in a good spot with the Los Angeles Lakers after wrapping up his first season.

Following the Lakers' season-ending loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, LeBron James and Luka Dončić praised the job Redick did during their postgame press conferences.

James is optimistic because Redick "had a hell of a rookie campaign" as a first-time head coach:

"I think JJ's going to continue to grow. Thought he had a hell of a rookie campaign for a rookie coach. And it's a lot different being a rookie coach. It's already hard being a rookie coach in the NBA. And it's a hell of a lot harder being a rookie head coach coaching the Lakers. It's a whole nother ballgame. And I thought he handled it extremely well. I thought he just learned every single day, held us accountable. He pushed us."

Dončić echoed James' sentiments: "I think he's a hell of a coach. I'm really glad I got coached by him these couple of months. It feels sometimes like I'm back in Europe a little bit. So I love it. We have a great bond. It's been nothing but amazing with him as a coach."

The Lakers' coaching search last summer took a winding path before eventually landing on Redick. They made a push for Tyronn Lue that was unsuccessful because he considered their proposal to be a "slap in the face" given his resume, so he signed a new deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley turned down a reported offer of six years and $70 million from the Lakers to remain in college. Redick, who had been rumored for the job very early on, was officially hired on June 24.

It seemed like an odd move for a franchise like the Lakers to turn to someone who had no coaching experience at any level, but Redick seemed to do just fine steering the ship.

Redick became the ninth head coach in franchise history to win at least 50 games in their first season. Their 50 victories this season were their most since 2019-20. He did that while helping the organization navigate through the franchise-altering move at midseason to acquire Dončić that completely reshaped how this roster plays.

Even though this season ended with a disappointing first-round playoff loss for the Lakers, Redick more than acclimated himself well to a coaching job that is one of the most pressure-filled in all of sports.