What’s next for LeBron James after one of the Lakers’ most disappointing seasons in franchise history?
In his end-of-season press conference at the team facility in El Segundo Monday, James was asked if he plans to sign his contract extension with the Lakers, which is available on Aug. 4.
“The conversation hasn’t been talked about technically because of the [NBA’s] collective bargaining agreement,” said James, who turns 38 in December.
“I know it’s out there, but myself and [agent] Rich [Paul] can’t even begin to talk to [GM] Rob [Pelinka] and the front office because of the collective bargaining agreement. When we get to that point, we’ll see.”
While reflecting on the season — in which the 33-49 Lakers failed to make the play-in tournament ¸— James said, “I came here to win a championship but I want to win more … I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish … but I want to do it again.”
The Lakers’ season ended Sunday in a 146-141 overtime win over the Nuggets that was fueled by Los Angeles’ younger bench players. The Lakers sat their Big 3 — James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook — who played just 21 games together due to a variety of injuries.
“I was watching the game (Sunday) night and it was our 41st starting lineup of the season. That’s almost half the season,” James said, later adding, “We never got a full staple size of that the team can possibly be.”
James’ playing future has been heavily speculated on, especially with the four-time NBA champion’s recent injury history. He played 56 games this season and missed time due to separate abdominal, knee and an ankle injuries.
Still, James put up MVP-caliber numbers when healthy. He averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game this season.
“The fact that I was playing the way I was playing and it wasn’t resulting in wins, it wasn’t enough,” James said.
The Lakers finished this season 22nd in the league in offensive efficiency and 21st in defensive efficiency. Now, Los Angeles faces a number of questions heading into the offseason: Who will return to the roster that James previously helped stack with future Hall of Famers? Who will be the next head coach?
Soon after James’ exit interview, the Lakers officially parted ways with head coach Frank Vogel.
James said he’ll be hands-off in roster decisions leading up to next season. It has been widely reported that James was instrumental in having Westbrook traded from the Wizards to the Lakers. It is a movie that backfired spectacularly.