"He doesn’t want to be Michael Jordan on Wizards" - Anonymous NBA executive claims LeBron James not bolting Lakers unless rival offers title shot

Sources report that LeBron James has no intentions of leaving the LA Lakers unless certain prerequisites are met. James is entering his eighth year as a Laker in the 2025-26 season. While the King only ever won one championship with the Purple and Gold, the team's championship drought isn't enough reason for him to leave.

Apparently, it has a lot to do with the way the Lakers organization has been treating James. While there have been rumors and reports of LeBron having issues with the front office, the organization has done everything it could to build a solid team around him.

According to a report by Yaron Weitzman, an anonymous NBA executive said that LeBron James won't leave LA unless a certain scenario takes place.

"He doesn't want to be like Michael Jordan on the Wizards," the anonymous NBA executive said.

Anonymous NBA executive's quote on X

Looking back at Michael Jordan's tenure with the Washington Wizards, it was somewhat of a failure. While he was the president of basketball operations during that time, Jordan didn't have the necessary pieces to help himself and the Wizards become contenders in the league.

Compared to LeBron James' current situation with the Lakers, he has plenty of reasons to stay. The Lakers have Luka Doncic, arguably one of the best the league has ever seen in the modern era. Then there's the recent acquisition of Deandre Ayton, who is expected to fill the shoes of Anthony Davis.

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Lakers GM addresses LeBron James' future in LA

While LeBron James has no intentions to leave the LA Lakers anytime soon, can the same be said for the general manager? In a recent interview with Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, he talked about how James' future looks with the team.

Despite the rumors and reports about James and Pelinka not being on the same page, it appears that the general manager still plans on taking care of his elder superstar.

“The first thing we want to do in terms of LeBron and his future is give him absolute respect to choose his story with his family in terms of how many years he’s going to play," Pelinka said. "He’s earned that right, and he’s the best one to talk about that."

Rob Pelinka then revealed that before forming the current Lakers roster, he had to wait for James' decision on whether he'd opt for his player option in his contract this offseason.

“We were very intentional this summer about the voices we add once LeBron opted in, making sure LeBron had the necessary pieces around him to be a competitive team," Pelinka added. "We built into that and for that.”

The 2025-26 Lakers roster looks promising with LeBron, Luka Doncic, Deandre Ayton and Austin Reaves leading the charge. Hopefully, Ayton delivers on what is expected of him, while the other three Lakers stars from last season could gel well together.