LeBron James is set to become an unrestricted free agent on June 30, and there is some debate among fans on whether the Los Angeles Lakers should bring him back. Some parts of the fanbase believe it is time to move on from James, but Lakers legend Michael Cooper made it clear it’s not, during an interview with the Lakers on SI’s Ryan Ward.
“No, no, no,” Cooper said. “I think both parties are working this excellently. I think give LeBron the chance. I don’t see LeBron going anywhere. I think he comes back to the Lakers. I think the only problem would be the money-wise because, again, if you come back as a max player, you don’t have any wiggle room to go out and attain another good player.
“So, again, that would be the biggest issue I think they’re going to have with that,” Cooper continued. “But I think LeBron’s here. LeBron James is better than 95 percent of the players in the league today. Here he is, what, he’s 41, and he carried that team through the whole first round against Houston [Rockets]. So, no, it’s not time to move on.”
James had a very disappointing start to the 2025-26 season, which led many to write him off. The 41-year-old’s play would improve as the season progressed, and he then showed his worth in the playoffs.
The Lakers appeared doomed when Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down with hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively, at the end of the regular season. That meant they were heavy underdogs in the first round series against the Houston Rockets, and not many gave them a chance.
James, though, managed to power the Lakers past the Rockets in six games. That was despite Doncic playing no part in the series and Reaves playing just two games.
There aren’t too many players in the NBA today who can claim to have led their team to victory in a playoff series. So, the Lakers absolutely should try to hold on to James, who ended up averaging 23.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game against the Rockets. As Cooper, who won five titles in 12 seasons with the Lakers, mentioned, though, the financials could prove to be a problem.
James will reportedly ask for a max contract from the Lakers. Not only is that too much for the 22-time All-Star at this stage of his career, but giving him that kind of a deal would make it extremely difficult for the front office to put a good supporting cast around their big guns.
James undoubtedly wants to win another championship, and taking less would improve his chances of doing so with the Lakers, who were eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals last season. Cooper believes the front office needs to bring in some young defensive players in free agency.
“I just think you need to add pieces to the Lakers,” Cooper said. “We need some younger players. We need some defensive players. We need a taller player. We need people who can play. We need a little bit of youth. I think we need some younger players who can come in. And, yeah, they’re going to make their mistakes, but you can see the improvement, and you can see them getting better as the season goes on.”
Well, the Lakers have reportedly realized they need better center play and true two-way defensive players. The question is whether they’ll get them. James taking a significant pay cut will make that task a whole lot easier. Will he? Time will tell.
