Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James spoke about his future during a recent episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast, and he left a lot to the imagination.
James said that he doesn’t know what his future holds yet, and he even indicated that it could be months before it comes into focus.
But former NBA big man Kendrick Perkins, who played with James years ago, thinks that the future Hall of Famer already has a plan in place.
Kendrick Perkins calls out LeBron James for fishing for attention 👀
(Via @FirstTake ) pic.twitter.com/83vM1syQoD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 22, 2026
“We took the bait,” said Perkins. “… He caught the attention that he wanted while his a– is sitting at home. I’ve been knowing Bron all my life. He moves like the president. He already has a plan in place. He know what he’s doing. He know what his next move in. He know what the counter is gonna be. He know where he wanna go, where he wanna be, if he wanna be on the Lakers. He already know that.”
This is a pivotal offseason for James, who has options as he considers his next move. He could retire and call it quits on his NBA career after 23 legendary seasons, but it seems more likely that he will return for more and continue his run of incredible longevity.
The question then becomes whether he will keep playing with the Lakers or turn the page after eight seasons in L.A.
This is one area where James doesn’t have total control. Even though he’s set to hit free agency, there are logistical obstacles that could make it tough for some teams to legitimately pursue him, especially since he doesn’t appear interested in taking the veteran minimum.
As such, it may not be as simple as James just picking his destination at will this offseason. But a recent report did detail that virtually “every contender” in the league has called about James, so there is clearly no shortage of interest.
No team is likely to build around the 41-year-old at this stage of his career, but he could certainly be a key piece for a team that is trying to get over the championship hump. James has won four NBA titles during his career, and one has to imagine that he’d love nothing more than to get a fifth before walking away from the game.
Those are some of the factors that he is going to have to think about this offseason, but if Perkins is right, James has likely already considered all of them.
