While NBA superstar LeBron James picked up his $52.6 million player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, it did not guarantee that he would remain in L.A. How the Lakers would handle player acquisition via the draft and free agency led to speculation over whether James could be traded.

The Athletic's Joe Vardon and Dan Woike broke new reporting on Wednesday morning, and it's this: "LeBron James hasn’t had buyout, trade discussions with Lakers, both sides expect that he will be with team for training camp."