Rumors

"I think we have to start thinking that this could be his last year in the league," ESPN's Dave McMenamin said. "Rich Paul [James' agent] told me there was no extension talk, because they didn't ask for an extension. They didn't broach the subject. Now, you could say, why didn't the Lakers offer it? Sure, you could. But Paul's point to me was this wasn't a point of tension. "It's not something that they were pursuing. So I think you look at it as, yeah, there's a very limited time remaining in his career," McMenamin continued. "We kinda already knew that. We knew that, basically, since he reached 20 years in the league, he's gone into every offseason contemplating retirement."

BasketNews

Shams Charania: The Milwaukee Bucks are re-signing forward Chris Livingston on a fully guaranteed one-year, $2.3 million deal, Rich Paul and Brandon Cavanaugh of Klutch Sports tell ESPN. Livingston, the 58th pick in the 2023 NBA draft, receives a third consecutive year on a guaranteed contract.

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Shams Charania: Livingston's progress this month in summer league for the Bucks helps him land a new deal -- 20 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field and 37.5% from 3.

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Rich Paul: “The way we’ve approached it, I just told LeBron, ‘Enjoy your summer.’ He’s been an unbelievable asset and example for the league since he’s arrived, an unbelievable ambassador is the word I was looking for since he arrived, and sometimes you just have to let the noise be the noise and we’re not focused on that. I don’t have any news. I don’t have anything to give. And in that conversation with Dave, that was just conversation, it wasn’t anything in terms of strategy or anything like that. It was just conversation. I mean, look, the guy’s 40 years old and playing like he’s 24.”

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Rich Paul: “I know how hard it is to get to the NBA. I know how hard it is to stay in the NBA. I know how hard it is to have consistency while being in the NBA. And, you know, it's easy for us to critique sitting behind these microphones. But the respect level for all the guys playing, and I know the respect level, obviously, for someone at LeBron's level and his tenure and all the things he's accomplished, again, you can't buy into those things. But people gotta do their job. And so we understand that and he understands that. But I think how you do things is what my focus is, and it's been class personified pretty much for the most part in any organization, and you have to remain that way.”

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Much of the tension appears to stem from the Lakers’ desire to keep their salary-cap sheet as clear as possible starting next summer, allowing them to find Luka Dončić’s future partner either in free agency or via trade, when they’ll have access to use first-round picks in 2026, 2031 and 2033 for a single trade.

New York Times

Sirius XM NBA: “Free agency for us, as a league, is a very important asset.” Rich Paul explains the significance of free agency and clarifies Draymond Green’s recent comments with @TheFrankIsola pic.x.com/4B0cV5cbDY

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Dave McMenamin: Now, I've checked in with both the Lakers and LeBron's camp on this one. For the Lakers, it's business as usual. They have motivation to compete at the highest level and maximize not just LeBron's timeline, but they want to compete now with Luka Doncic. Some have said that the true cause of this situation was the Lakers not offering LeBron a contract beyond next season. But Rich Paul told me that they never asked for one. Paul also made it clear to me that LeBron has not asked for a trade. And Paul hasn't even discussed the possibility of wanting a trade in the future with the Lakers. Paul did tell me that four teams contacted him with interest in trading for LeBron. So now we wait. The Lakers have a full roster to have a decision to make on Shake Milton's contract by July 20th. They also have three expiring contracts in Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, who's here tonight, and Maxi Kleber, plus their 2031 first-round draft pick they can use in trade scenarios. Now, I asked LeBron just before tip off if he'd like to join the broadcast to discuss everything, and he told me, quote, "I ain't got nothing to talk about, guys."

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Paul also had to formally inform the Lakers that James intended to pick up the final year of his contract after the team did not engage in any substantial discussions about extending him by a year or two, sources said, as they had twice previously during James' Lakers' tenure. It was then that he let the organization know about the coming statement.

ESPN

Before he released the statement, Paul gave a heads-up to Doncic and the Lakers. Paul called Seager, with whom he has a relationship, and wanted to extend an olive branch, sources said. He wanted to make it clear James has always appreciated Doncic's admiration for him and knows that Doncic understands the business of the league. That this wasn't a reflection on how James felt about their experience playing together. And Paul suggested that if James eventually made any further moves, he would communicate them.

ESPN

Brian Windhorst: “Number two, when the Cavs were informed of LeBron’s decision, it was Rich Paul—who wasn’t even LeBron’s agent yet—who called the Cavs. They respected him for doing that, and that formed the basis of the relationship that helped LeBron come back four years later. That’s important to remember. And when did the Cavs start getting LeBron James back? They got him back the next day.

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LeBron James is considered likely to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers next season, but he would receive interest if the parties decide to explore the trade market. James picked up his $52.6 million player option with the Lakers on the eve of free agency, but comments from Rich Paul suggested he has some level of unease over how competitive the team is choosing to be in the short-term as they now pivot to build around Luka Doncic. "I am told LeBron's just chilling and watching the offseason," said Brian Windhorst on Tuesday's NBA Today Free Agency Special. "Do I think he's going to get traded? No, I do not. But if he wanted to get traded, there are teams who would step up and make offers. So those two things, I think, are true. And if LeBron speaks up for himself and has a different thing to say, then we could have some action. But I don't know if that'll happen."

RealGM

Dave McMenamin: "LeBron hasn’t had any discussions with the Lakers about wanting a trade. Rich Paul said four teams contacted him in the last 24 hours wanting to talk trades, but there weren’t any substantive conversations with those teams." "Right now, LeBron is focused on playing on a championship-caliber roster. Rich told me: 'There are no guarantees in building one, but we know what it looks like — and what it doesn’t look like.'"

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Dave McMenamin: "Rich also told me that he understands that, in this moment, it's important for the Lakers to look out for Luka Dončić. But as a representative of LeBron James, he has to make sure he's looking out for LeBron’s best interests as well."

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