The Los Angeles Lakers are not good enough, and LeBron James will turn 40 years old in December. Remind yourself of both whenever considering whether their futures will be entwined beyond June.
Or whenever considering whether their futures should be entwined. Those are two different things.
The Lakers, it seems, have made up their minds. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick, who all but tossed dirt on Darvin Ham's tenure as head coach, "The Lakers want [James] back — badly." Lakers owner Jeanie Buss reportedly "believes James’ return is of paramount importance to their plan" and is willing to pay up to "the maximum three-year, $164 million extension they can offer.