The Denver Nuggets made sure LA Lakers don’t see “sunrise” on the Playoffs horizon this year. After a disheartening 4-1 loss just last week, LeBron James’ dream of reaching the NBA Finals in his 21st season collapsed, leaving a lot of room for speculation about his next move. Will he remain a Laker? Could retirement be on the horizon? There are loads of questions that need answering this offseason. However, the Lakers might have a master plan that could entice King James to stay put in LA.

For years, LeBron James has stated that the one dream he hasn’t fulfilled during his illustrious NBA career is playing with his eldest son, Bronny. And the Lakers might just grant him that wish. Multiple reports have suggested that the Los Angeles Lakers would select Bronny in the 2024 NBA Draft in order to convince James to stay in LA. So, it’s highly probable James’ fate is sealed with the purple and gold. But some might argue against this.

Now since, everyone of course would eye LeBron James, but James will not come alone, teams will be desperate to draft Bronny along as a bargaining chip to ensure the King is on their team. However, having finished slightly lower in standings than the Lakers (at 56), the Dubs would have the opportunity to draft before LA (at 53). The Warriors might as well use this pick to draft Bronny in their team, knowing the Lakers are desperate to hold Bron and they’re ready to do anything for that. Tim Kawakami of the Athletic heavily explored this idea.

During a recent episode of the TK Show, Kawakami said, “They (Warriors) will explore LeBron. They will explore drafting Bronny. The Warriors might force the Lakers to trade them something decent for that pick… I can see the Warriors going, ‘We’re gonna draft Bronny. What are you gonna do about it Lakers?’”

The Golden State Warriors may either take Bronny as a draft pick or if the Lakers want Bronny back, they might as well just ask them to shell out a “key player” from the LA roster to their side. Anyway, this literally means James’ dream might be shattered.

The Warriors previously explored the possibility of trading for LeBron James during this season’s trade deadline in February. While the Lakers were willing to entertain the idea, it was LeBron himself who turned down the opportunity to join the Bay Area outfit. However, could the upcoming offseason bring about a change in circumstances?

Will LeBron James remain a Laker?

The Lakers’ hierarchy knew very well that the 2023–24 season could be LeBron James’ last season as a Laker, he is practically a free agent this summer. Despite knowing this, the Lakers did not make any significant trades earlier this season. So, in a way, both the Lakers and James are set to face pivotal decisions after the Finals are over.

Even though sources talk about the franchise roping in Bronny and LeBron’s dedication to a “traditional” team like the Lakers, there’s another ESPN postgame report that begs to differ. As per the report, LeBron’s future “remains a mystery”. There are a few sources in the report that state that the team officials aren’t truly aware of what James is going to do this summer, in the context of this $51.4 mn player option. There are also reports of Lakers willing to offer him a 3-year contract extension worth $164 million. This of course, will be an unprecedented feat for an aging player. After all, no 39-year-old player has commanded a contract this big. And to top it off, it might come with a change in coach (and likely a coach of his liking), his son (possibly), a rather consistent PG unlike D’Angelo Russell, a better Forward unlike Taurean Prince, and an overall balanced team; a team from which James wouldn’t want to walk away from. It will be a wholesome package for him.

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Notably, there have been several reports making rounds that playing with Bronny is no longer LeBron James’ number 1 priority. NBA Insider, Adrian Wojnarowski added more context to this in his report after his brief conversation with Rich Paul, Bron’s agent. “The idea of them playing together is not a priority, it’s not foremost, at least any longer, in LeBron James’ mind,” Wojnarowski said.

In the post-game pressers after the Lakers were eliminated from Playoffs, Bron was asked about his future with his son on the court, since he (Bronny) is already testing NBA Drafts water this year. He said, “I haven’t given it much thought lately, obviously I thought about it in the past”. Seems like LeBron waived the question away. He also said, “The end of the day, the kid has to do what he wants to do. I don’t even want to say kid no more, the young man will decide what he wants to do and how he wants his career to go.”

Circling back to the LA side, they would definitely not want to sever ties with their superstar, on and off the court. Even at such an age, he’s averaging 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds in 71 regular season games. Additionally, he averaged 27.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 6.8 rebounds in 5 games in the 2024 playoffs. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the Lakers want to keep hold of him. But will their efforts bear fruits?