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LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul has quashed rumors that the Los Angeles Lakers forward could be on his way out ahead of the upcoming trade ᴅᴇᴀᴅline.
Rumors of James being traded by the Lakers began running rampant across social media after he cryptically posted an emoji of an hourglᴀss on X after their 138-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.
That defeat was LA’s second straight 16-point humbling, and before his cryptic post online LeBron expressed his frustration by claiming: ‘We could get our a**es kicked by any team in the NBA’.
Though despite his recent digs at the organization, James’ agent insists his client is going nowhere.
‘LeBron won’t be traded, and we aren’t asking to be,’ said Paul.
LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul rubbished rumors that his client may be traded by the Lakers
James posted a cryptic hourglᴀss emoji on X after the Lakers’ second straight 16-point loss on Tuesday, which led to increased speculation over his future in LA
James has not clarified what he was referencing with the tweet, and he also missed the Lakers’ win against the Boston Celtics on Thursday due to an ankle injury.
The 39-year-old superstar did, however, express his frustrations when speaking to reporters following the loss to Atlanta.
‘We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA. And then on any given night we get our a** kicked by any team in the NBA,’ James said. ‘That’s where we are.’
‘I don’t have any message for my teammates. Just go out and do your job’
James holds a $51.4million player option for the 2024-25 season in his current contract and could choose to leave the Lakers as a free agent next term.
He signed an extension back in 2022 that would allow him to remain in a Lakers jersey through at least the 2024-25 season.
LeBron sounded off on the state of the Lakers after their latest defeat to the Atlanta Hawks
Though from the moment he signed the contract – and long before the extension came to fruition – league insiders speculated that James instilled that clause so he could have the option of leaving the Lakers and joining forces with his eldest son LeBron ‘Bronny’ James Jr.
Bronny is currently a freshman at USC and will be eligible to declare for the NBA once the college basketball season is complete.
James has spent years speaking about his dream of playing with his son in the NBA and depending how the Lakers current season and next year’s draft play out could choose to act on that dream.
