Los Angeles Lakers

After another early playoff exit following Wednesday's Game 5 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James candidly spoke about not living up to his own standards.

"For me, since my first NBA Finals appearance in 2007, the moment I got an opportunity to be a part of that and taste that feeling, from there on, every season that I did not make it to the Finals or did not win the championship has been a disappointment," he told reporters (0:18 mark). "So, it'll be the same for me, it will be the same offseason of disappointment and unfulfillment."

The four-time NBA champion hasn't made it back to the NBA Finals since he led the Lakers to the title in 2020. Since then, Los Angeles has been eliminated in the first round three times, and the team missed the playoffs entirely in 2022. A run to the 2023 Western Conference Finals was the last bit of postseason success since the 2020 championship.

At 40 years old, James is still performing at a high level, but showed signs of fatigue against the Timberwolves after shouldering a hefty workload. He played 40 minutes on Wednesday and had 22 points while shooting 9-of-21 from the field.

James admitted after the loss that he's uncertain about whether he will be back for a 22nd NBA season.

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

Even though Luka Dončić isn't happy to start his offseason this soon, it will probably be good for him to catch his breath after a whirlwind couple of months that completely changed his career going forward.

Speaking to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers' 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 on Wednesday, the 26-year-old said he hasn't thought about potentially signing a contract extension this summer.

"I didn't think about it yet," Dončić said. "I've been focused on basketball. So obviously this is the time now to think about everything."

Dončić also noted the back injury he suffered during the game is "not good at all" right now. The injury occurred on a hard foul by Donte DiVincenzo late in the second quarter.

It wasn't apparent in Dončić's performance that he was hobbled. The five-time All-Star led all players with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting and had five assists in 20 minutes during the second half.

Contract talks between Dončić and the Lakers will be a key storyline this summer. His midseason trade from the Dallas Mavericks made him ineligible for the supermax that would have been worth $345 million over five years.

Per ESPN's Bobby Marks, there are two extension options Dončić has available this summer.

The biggest one would be a four-year, $228.6 million extension that Dončić can sign as soon as Aug. 2. The two-plus-one deal would allow him to maximize his potential earnings because he would become eligible for a five-year, $418 million contract that would start with the 2028-29 season.

Under his current deal, the five-time All-Star will earn just under $46 million in 2025-26. He could become a free agent after next season by opting out of his deal.

Dončić is one of several major contract decisions the Lakers have to figure out this summer. LeBron James has a $52.6 million player option for next season that must be decided on by June 29. Dorian Finney-Smith has a $14.9 million player option in his current deal.

Austin Reaves could sign a four-year extension worth up to $89.2 million. If he waits until next summer to sign, the max value of his deal would increase to $98 million.

Dončić is going to be the long-term face of the franchise for the Lakers, as long as he wants to stay in Los Angeles. He has adjusted well to his new surroundings, especially considering how shocking the trade was and he was still recovering from a hamstring injury when it went down.

In 28 games after the trade, Dončić averaged 28.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists per contest. The Lakers went 18-10 when he was in the starting lineup.

LeBron James is once again thinking about how much time he has left in the NBA after his 22nd season came to an end on Wednesday night.

Speaking to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers' 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference playoffs (starts at 1:10 mark), James admitted he's undecided about how much longer he will keep playing:

"I don't know. 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"

Later in the press conference (starts at 4:50 mark), James explained it's hard to predict what the roster will look like next season except for the players locked into deals and he's "got a lot to think about myself" thinking about the offseason.

This could be another summer in which James goes through a contract negotiation. He has a $52.6 million player option that must be picked up by June 29.

James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin afterward that his comments weren't necessarily about him looking to play for any team besides the Lakers, but about his contract status and how much he wants to keep playing.

"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 will be interesting to see how James approaches a contract negotiation this summer if he does opt out. There were reports last year he would consider taking less than the max if the Lakers were able to bring in free agents to boost the roster.

Even though the Lakers weren't able to make a big splash in free agency, James did ultimately take slightly less than max money on his two-year, $101.4 million deal.

Dorian Finney-Smith is probably the most notable impending free agent on Los Angeles' roster, assuming James either opts in or will re-sign. Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves are both eligible for extensions this summer.

Dončić's status will be another key storyline because he's ineligible to sign the supermax after being traded during the season. The most he could get from the Lakers this summer is $228.6 million over four years, but a short-term deal would allow him to eventually sign a five-year, $418 million contract starting with the 2028-29 season.

Despite being 40 years old, James certainly doesn't look like a player who is nearing the end of his career. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game in 70 starts this season.

The Lakers earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 50-32 record. It was their most wins in a regular season since 2019-20 when they won the NBA championship.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has enough sway to voice his opinions on roster changes, but he's hoping to avoid the same fate as one of his former teammates.

After the Lakers' season came to an end with a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Wednesday's Game 5, James was asked about how tough playing without a center was after Anthony Davis was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Luka Doncic, and he had a hilarious answer.

"No comment, I'll never say that, because my guy AD said what he needed, and he was gone the following week. I got no comment, I put that uniform on every night, I gave everything that I had, and that's all that matters," James said with a laugh (6:50 mark).

The 40-year-old was referring to Davis' comments from earlier this season that he wanted the Lakers to acquire a center.

"I think we need another big. I feel like I've always been at my best when I've been the 4, having a big out there," Davis told ESPN's Shams Charania in January. He went on to add, "We know it worked when we won a championship with JaVale [McGee] and Dwight [Howard] at the 5 and I'm at the 4."

Instead of fulfilling Davis' wish, Los Angeles shipped him away as part of the package that acquired Doncic. Sam Amick of The Athletic later reported that Davis' comments "caused serious frustration all the way to the top of the Lakers franchise."

Ironically, the lack of a productive center was one of the primary reasons for the team's downfall on Wednesday night. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert dominated the paint and dropped 27 points and 24 rebounds to spearhead the victory.

One of the top priorities for the Lakers this offseason will be to fill the hole at the center position, which would certainly help matters if James decides to return for his 22nd season in the NBA.