LeBron James has been relatively quiet all offseason after deciding to exercise the player option on his contract for the 2025-26 season back in late June. His agent, Rich Paul, issued a vague statement about wanting to evaluate what’s best for him moving forward, which was interpreted by many as a prelude to a trade request.
But neither James nor Paul has asked for a trade, at least not yet. The superstar will be reporting to training camp this coming week as a member of the Lakers, and there is no tangible sign that he is upset with the organization.
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During a press conference on Thursday, coach JJ Redick said he recently spoke with James and that the 40-year-old is “in a great spot mentally.”
Via Lakers Nation:
“I talked to LeBron fairly frequently,” Redick said at his recent press conference. “Had two great in-person meetings with him. One, he finally made it out to the Hamptons. So he and I had dinner in Sag Harbor right around free agency. And then was able to spend some time with him here in L.A, a couple weeks ago. Came away from that thinking that he’s in a great spot mentally and know he’s going to give us his absolute best.”
James is about to start his 23rd NBA season, which will set a new league record for the most seasons played by an individual. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists a game last season, and he hasn’t shown any real signs of slowing down.
He said in a recent interview that while his inevitable retirement “is coming,” it hasn’t arrived quite yet.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick: LeBron James is ‘in a great spot mentally’