Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and there could be several teams bidding for his services.
In fact, it was recently reported that virtually “every contender” has reached out about the four-time champion with an eye on his future.
However, if James does return for a 24th NBA season, he is not expected to take a veteran minimum deal.
“Last Tuesday…I said that there were many people around the league who thought that LeBron should take a veteran minimum salary,” NBA insider Jake Fischer said. “It does not sound like that is actually in the cards at all. I wanna be very, very clear about that after some text messages and phone calls I received.”
It makes sense that James wouldn’t want to take a minimum deal since he was an All-Star in the 2025-26 season and is still one of the league’s most productive players. However, that could limit the number of teams that could truly pursue him in the offseason without the help of a sign-and-trade.
If James is looking to make a similar salary to what he made in the 2025-26 season and remain in contention, he will likely need to return to the Lakers – if they’re willing to take him at that number – or find a team that is willing to do a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles.
The 41-year-old averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from 3 during the 2025-26 regular season, showing that he can still produce at an All-Star level.
James helped the Lakers earn the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, and he carved out a nice role as the No. 3 option alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves when all three were healthy.
Then, with both of those guards injured to start the playoffs, James led the Lakers to a 3-0 series lead against the Houston Rockets. Los Angeles ended up taking that series in six games, but it was swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round.
Doncic did not play in the postseason, but Reaves returned for the final six games of L.A.’s playoff run. James finished the postseason averaging 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per contest across 10 games.
The four-time league MVP is going to have a serious market in the offseason (if he decides to keep playing) because he’s still an elite talent, but it’ll be interesting to see how much teams are willing to pay for him in his 24th NBA season.
