LeBron James reportedly believes that the Los Angeles Lakers are building towards the future instead of focusing on the team's short-term success.

The King wants to end his career on the highest of notes—but Los Angeles might not be the place for him to do so.

During the 2024-25 NBA season with the Lakers, James played in 70 games. He averaged 24.4 points per game to go along with 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, and a steal, while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and knocking down 37.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

LeBron James’ Future With Steph Curry Heats Up After New Comments originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

After this latest report from Biran Windhorst, it's hard not to think that the Los Angeles Lakers are done with the LeBron James era.

LeBron James has been very meticulous and calculated with everything he has done throughout his career, so his apparent hesitation about where things stand with the Los Angeles Lakers has people within the NBA paying close attention to the situation.

An NBA executive said LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers might be "butting heads" after the Lakers did not post an announcement about James' opting into the final season of his contract.

For months, publicly and privately, the Lakers have been signaling their desire to begin the Luka Doncic era in Los Angeles, even if it meant ending the LeBron James one.

However, the four-time NBA champion received a frightening retirement prediction from his son, Bryce James. "I ain't gonna lie that's OD (overdose-doing too much)," the Arizona freshman said on Instagram Live in response to a comment about him potentially joining his father in the league in 2026.

As detailed in a recent feature story by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst, the news sent the Association into a "tizzy," with executives around the league doing their best to "decode" the message released by James's agent, Rich Paul.