James did not ask the Lakers for a contract renewal because he was not sure whether he would still play in the 26-27 season

Today, Lakers Daily reporter Ashish Mathur wrote an article reporting on the recent situation of Lakers forward James.

According to Lakers Daily, James did not request a contract renewal to the Lakers this offseason. He chose the player option to execute the 2025-26 season, which means he will be a full free agent in the next offseason, for the first time since 2018.

James's agent, Klutch Sports Group's Ritchie Paul made a cryptic statement to ESPN's Shams Charania after NBA history scoring champion James chose to execute the 2025-26 season player option. The statement sparked an uproar, with many commentators and fans believing that James was dissatisfied with the Lakers and could demand a deal.

However, sources from Lakers Daily revealed that Paul's statement was actually a way for James to put pressure on Lakers' basketball operations president and general manager Pelinka, hoping that he could strengthen the roster around himself, Doncic and Reeves. This strategy worked, with Pelinka signing DeAndre Aiton, Marcus Smart and Laravia in the offseason.

Source also said that the reason why James did not ask the Lakers for a contract renewal was that he was not sure whether he would participate in the 2026-27 season.