James last dance with the Lakers! His indifferent attitude in the opening game sparked doubts and was revealed to be out of touch with the team

LeBron James may be the biggest talking point of the season, and while Luka Doncic has given the Los Angeles Lakers new championship expectations since last season's blockbuster trade, James' future is the Lakers' top topic. Since James joined the Lakers in 2018, the team has made many adjustments to the lineup in order to adapt to the legendary star. Of course, their efforts were not in vain, and they finally won the championship trophy that year in the 2020 Orlando bubble.

However, frequent lineup adjustments also put the Lakers on the same path as Kobe Bryant at the end of his career - no direction forward and no hope for reconstruction. This is definitely not a situation the Lakers want to see again. Fortunately, Mavericks general manager Nick Harrison took the initiative to call at this time and asked Pelinka if he was interested in acquiring Doncic, and the Lakers happily accepted.

Now the Lakers are Doncic's team, and the Lakers management has made it clear that they will take action to help Doncic prepare for future championship success, which can be seen from the young superstar's participation in lineup decisions this past offseason. As for James, he did not participate in any decisions made by Pelinka and the front office this offseason, and the team did not seek his opinion on this season's plans. His only goal is to compete for the last championship at the end of his career.

This idea coincides with Doncic and the Lakers, which is why everyone can still enter training camp and preseason on schedule after news that James may want to change continues to ferment throughout the offseason. Still, James' future remains up in the air, and just after the Lakers lost 119-109 to the Golden State Warriors in the season opener, all the rumors from the summer resurfaced.

This game exposed many problems of the Lakers. They seemed to have nothing new on the offensive end. Except for Doncic and Reeves, everyone else was lackluster. Even the new center Deandre Ayton, who had high hopes in the offseason, seemed hopeless. All of this still points to a major question, which is whether James really wants to end his career with a team like the Lakers with no hope of winning a championship.

Since James chose to exercise his player option for the 2025-26 season rather than become an unrestricted free agent, questions have arisen about his dissatisfaction with the Lakers management. More importantly, James' close friend, agent, and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul publicly stated that James only thinks about winning and constantly hinted that his time with the Lakers is coming to an end, which added fuel to the fire. But the Lakers have never discussed James trade negotiations during this offseason, nor have they discussed the idea of ​​a buyout. At least James remains with the team.

However, there are two levels of retention, one is for people to be attentive but not to leave, and the other is for the team both physically and mentally. In the Lakers' season opener against the Warriors, James appeared on the bench and appeared to be disinterested and unenthusiastic in the proceedings, which also led to NBA fans speculating on social media that there may have been a disconnect between the superstar and the Lakers.

Whether or not this speculation is true, Lakers head coach J.J. Redick supported LeJames in an interview with the media on Thursday, saying that he was an important part of the team's video analysis meeting and that there was no hard feelings. Redick said in an interview with ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin: "LeBron is really helpful to us. I tell them, he will ask questions, he will give opinions, and the back and forth between us is very healthy...Every time we watch the game tape and teach, I want to have a dialogue, come to Talk back and ask questions. I would say if you have a question, speak up. If you want to make a point, speak up, it's all good."

The question of whether James wants to finish the 2025-26 season with the Lakers may not be as important as outsiders think. Before James becomes a free agent in 2026, his annual salary this season is as high as $52.6 million. I believe that no team in the league is willing to pay equivalent assets for this veteran who is over 40 years old, because everyone knows that his time in the NBA is limited.

Not to mention, all championship teams that James may be interested in face salary cap restrictions. Among the trade rumors involving James, the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets are the most discussed potential destinations. The Nuggets and Knicks have no direct way to equalize their salaries in a trade without giving up key, indispensable players, while the Warriors and Mavericks both face tight salary cap restrictions. Although after the Doncic trade, we will no longer say that it will never happen when it comes to potential NBA trades, but regardless of how James feels, it is very far away that he will be traded this season.

Speaking of his feelings, it all stems from rumors about James's emotions towards the Lakers, that there may be a disconnect between the league's all-time leading scorer and the Lakers. Many media outlets covering the Lakers are questioning James' attitude and his views on the team. Even reporter Jovan Buha, who has followed the Lakers for many years, recently claimed on his "Buha 's Block" podcast that the atmosphere between James and the Lakers is not very good. Maybe everyone is over-amplifying the Lakers' opening night loss and James' reaction, but all of these narratives are adding up and pointing in the direction of a disconnect that will eventually lead to this scenario.

What’s even more terrible is that with James getting injured, everything continues to get out of control.. James has been dealing with sciatica on his right side throughout the offseason, and the ailment will force him to miss the start of the 2025-26 season, the first time in his entire 23-year career.

Regarding James' return time, the Lakers officials do not have much definite news, but their attitude has always been optimistic, that is, James will be able to return sometime in mid-November. The Lakers will start a five-game road trip from November 8th to 15th, so if the Lakers are ready to let James return at home, it may be a home game against the Utah Jazz on November 19th.

Currently, neither the James team nor the Lakers officials have given an official comeback date, so everything is pure speculation. But there are several factors that have to be considered, the most important of which is the Lakers' ability to withstand James' absence and the league's lowest attendance rate in 65 games.

If we assume that James does not return until the home game against the Jazz on November 19, this means that he will miss the first 14 games of this season, including 9 away games. Last season, the Lakers had a record of only 19 wins and 22 losses on the road. In these 14 games, the Lakers had to face the league's top teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks. Under such circumstances, can the Lakers afford to have only Doncic and Reeves as the only reliable options on the court? And Doncic already appears to be dealing with groin discomfort, but the Lakers may have no choice.

In terms of meeting the minimum award criteria of 65 game attendance, James has been selected to the NBA's All-NBA Team for 21 consecutive seasons, which is a record that may never be broken. Even last season, James' injuries were so serious that he ended up playing 70 games. If James misses the first 14 games of the regular season this year, he will already be on the verge of meeting the 65-game minimum standard, as he will only have to miss three more games to qualify for All-NBA honors.

The most important thing is that if the Lakers want to make a difference this year, they need James to return to the court as soon as possible. Of course, the Lakers don't care much about James' personal honors and records. The Lakers only need James to help them win games. Despite the performances of Doncic and Reeves, James is still one of the best players in the league when healthy, and the Lakers are a completely different team without him. But regardless of whether he's healthy or not, James' mentality plays a big role in how this season ends for him and the Lakers, and while he may be ready to return soon, the 40-year-old's heart may already be elsewhere.

It is undeniable that since James first joined the Lakers and won the championship in 2020, his relationship with the Lakers has broken down, and only James himself knows whether the relationship between the two parties can be repaired. So what does the future hold for James?

At present, regardless of whether the relationship between the two parties is tense or not, James intends to fulfill this year's contract with the Lakers. While the mentality of trading James may change from a team and player perspective between now and February, the Lakers are now solely focused on getting him back on the court. After all, James helped the Lakers get off to a 15-8 start in the 2024-25 season, ranking third in the Western Conference during the same period, behind the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the upstart Houston Rockets.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, the end of James' career is full of uncertainty. While it's possible that James will retire directly after this season, he's more likely to be looking for a new contract as an unrestricted free agent with at least a year left in his illustrious career.

In the final analysis, James has always had an obsession in his heart, wanting to win one more championship (at least catching up with his big brother Kobe). If he feels that he cannot do this with the Lakers, then outsiders speculate that he is willing to accept a short contract with a lower annual salary to fulfill his wish in other teams. But this is a completely separate topic, and no one can predict what will happen eight months from now. At present, the Lakers will continue to remain patient and optimistic about James, and the topic in Los Angeles is still waiting.