The Lakers decided to draft star LeBron James’ son ahead of next season and he has pledged to stay with the team, but sources say James plans to leave anyway — and those plans are certainly big.
Bronny was selected in the second round of the NBA draft in June, fulfilling his father’s greatest wish: to play on the same team as his son.
James reportedly Signed Now that it’s safe for his son to play alongside him, he signed a two-year, $104 million contract extension with the Lakers.
But reports suggest that it could be over in two more years for the Lakers, and James is already planning his next leap.
NBA reporter Brian Windhorst told ESPN’s First Take that he’s planning on making not just any jump, but a big jump. According to Windhorst, LeBron wants him and Bronny to be the faces of an expansion team in Las Vegas. Daily Mail.
“What does he want next? After playing with his son, what has he made clear? He wants to be the owner of an upcoming expansion team in Las Vegas,” Windhorst said.
“So the biggest thing other than health that will determine when LeBron’s career will end is when the league owners give us a timeline for when they’re going to build a new team in Las Vegas,” he said.
“Right now nothing is guaranteed and they keep putting asterisks on everything, but I think once the TV rights deal gets done, which should be this summer, the CBA is done, the TV rights deal is done, Adam Silver’s contract is extended, they’ll bring expansion to the table and probably pick the year that it happens,” Windhorst said.
“Not next season, so probably two years from now at the earliest,” he added. “And I think that’s going to be what LeBron is going to be focused on. He wants to work with partners and be the face of the franchise in Las Vegas.”
With all these plans, it’s clear that James still thinks he has a long-term future in the NBA. After all, his plans for an expansion team are on hold for two years following his recent contract signing. Plus, Bronny signed a four-year deal with the Lakers, so expansion dreams could be five years away.
Clearly, James has big plans to continue playing professional basketball.
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