LeBron James Commits To LA Lakers For At Least The Next Two Seasons

Barring a shocking trade or an early retirement, LeBron James will be with the Los Angeles Lakers for at least the next two seasons. James on Wednesday agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension.

Before agreeing to the extension, James was in the final year of his deal. James now has three years left on his contract. He has a player option for the 2024-25 season, giving him the chance to become a free agent in two years.

His son Bronny will be eligible to play in the NBA in the 2024-25 season. The Lakers' star has made it no secret that he wants to become teammates with his son.

The extension makes James ineligible to be traded during the 2022-23 season. Because he wasn't a free agent, James didn't have the option of getting a no-trade clause in his new contract.

None of the teams that are projected to have enough salary-cap space to sign a max free agent in the summer of 2023 appealed to James as possible free-agent destinations, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

There's little chance that the Lakers will seriously consider moving on from James over the next two seasons. James, who turns 38 on Dec. 30, remains one of the best players in the NBA. He averaged 30.3 points per game last season and was only a couple of games shy of qualifying to be the NBA scoring champion.

Anthony Davis is also signed for the next two years with the ability to opt-out of his contract in the summer of 2024. The Lakers can now try to build around their superstar duo, knowing that the pairing will be together for the next two years.

It was only two years ago that Davis and James led the Lakers to their first championship in nearly a decade inside the league's bubble. James won his fourth NBA Finals MVP award.

The Lakers haven't won a playoff series in either of the last two seasons. Los Angeles failed to reach the 2022 NBA play-in tournament.

James has dealt with serious injuries in three of his four seasons in Los Angeles. The future Hall of Famer was limited to 56 games last season and 45 games in the 2020-2021 season.

During his Lakers' career, James is averaging 27.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. James is shooting 50.9% from the field and 35.3% from three-point range with Los Angeles.

Russell Westbrook is still on the Lakers' roster with one year left on his contract. There continue to be rumors that Los Angeles is trying to trade for Kyrie Irving.