The acquisition of center Deandre Ayton shows that the L.A. Lakers are still in win-now mode. However, it appears that LeBron James no longer aligns with the Lakers’ long-term plan. The Lakers are treating LeBron as an “expiring contract.” And this is not sitting well with LeBron and his Klutch Sports crew.

Deandre Ayton, former No. 1 overall pick in 2018, signed with the Lakers on a two-year deal worth $16 million. The Lakers now have their starting center in place. Ayton wasn’t the top center Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka had targeted at the start of free agency, but he took advantage of the bad breakup in Portland after the Blazers bought out Ayton’s contract.

Ayton will make $33 million during the 2025-26 season, but the Lakers are on the hook for only $8 million, so the Blazers are eating the bulk of that contract. That’s how badly they wanted to distance themselves from Ayton, whose time in Portland was a disappointment. He averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds in just 40 games in the 2024-25 season.

Here’s what the Ayton move means for the Lakers. It means the Lakers are still in it to win it for 2025-26; they still want to win now. However, they are also preparing themselves for the future and that future doesn’t include LeBron James.

Ayton’s deal is team-friendly. It’s consistent with the Lakers’ plan of attack so far, which is to sign short-term deals and avoid contracts that will strain their salary cap situation. This approach played out during negotiations with free agent Dorian Finney-Smith. Finney-Smith wanted to return to the Lakers but he was seeking a four-year deal. The Lakers declined and DFS agreed to terms with the Houston Rockets on a four-year, $53 million deal. The Lakers quickly pivoted to fill the open roster spot, signing wing player Jake LaRavia. The 3-point specialist signed a two-year contract worth around $12 million.

The cost-effective and shorter-term deals put the Lakers in a position to leave the door open in case players like Giannis Antetokounmpo or Nikola Jokic become available. There’s no guarantee that the Greek Freak or Joker will be coming to L.A. shortly, but at least the Lakers are setting themselves up to be in good standing cap-wise for any scenario. This is a savvy business move, and it’s a smart move. This is how Mark Walter, the new majority owner of the Lakers, operated the L.A. Dodgers and that turned out pretty well for the Dodgers.

The Lakers are prioritizing Luka Doncic’s timeline over LeBron James’ timeline. Everything the Lakers have done after LeBron opted into his $52 million deal to play one more year is consistent with the Lakers’ long-term plan — and the master plan revolves around Luka.

There’s a strong indication, based on LeBron’s social media reactions and the messaging from his agent Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, that the Lakers prioritizing Luka over LeBron is something that LeBron and his team are not OK with.

Luka is now wearing the crown and this narrative undercuts the King James brand. You can’t be king if someone else is now wearing the crown. For the first time in LeBron’s career he is no longer in full control of the situation.

LeBron is a brand. He operates on LeBron time. He controls the narrative. He is the face of the player empowerment era that he helped create.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career. We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive, and want what’s best for him.”

The key part of that statement was: “He wants to make every season he has left count.”

LeBron is in win-now, win-at-all-cost mode for the 2025-26. He doesn’t want to waste any time. He is saying this through his agent Rich Paul.

The Lakers also want to win now, but they’re also preparing for the future. The Lakers and their new majority ownership group headed by Walter are now in full control of the situation, and this is making LeBron and Klutch Sports uneasy. They have never felt this way throughout LeBron’s career.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who knows LeBron better than anyone, suggested that the Lakers are treating LeBron as an expiring contract, which is quite remarkable for someone of LeBron’s caliber. Windhorst said there weren’t any substantive negotiations with the Lakers before James exercised his $52.6 million player option and there were no substantive talks of a contract extension.

Windhorst said: “The Lakers and LeBron, whoever wants to spin their side of the story, I’m not sure what happened, but the Lakers and LeBron did not have substantive discussions about extending his contract, which every team that LeBron’s been on for 20-something years has wanted to have substantive conversations about extending his contract. And what happens to expiring contracts in the NBA? They’re viewed as trade pieces.”

If the 2025-26 season is indeed LeBron’s final year with the Lakers, the past seven years have been a major win for both sides. The Lakers won an NBA title in 2020 and won the inaugural NBA Cup. The Lakers became relevant again after some down years after Kobe Bryant retired. The marriage between the Lakers and LeBron was worth it. And for LeBron, the move to L.A. was a huge success. He was able to carve out a legacy in L.A. He was gifted the opportunity to play with his son, Bronny. He won a title and set the all-time scoring record wearing a Laker jersey. It was a resounding success.

If this is truly LeBron’s final year as a Los Angeles Laker, both sides should be at peace. It was fun while it lasted but now it’s time to move on.

The Lakers are thinking of long-term investment, and the long-term investment starts with Doncic. They can use LeBron’s salary slot to sign players in the 2026 offseason. The Lakers are going about it the right way. They’re not absorbing contracts and signing expensive free agents just to appease LeBron.

Pelinka is operating on a new future timeline. His job is to keep the books to save the team’s salary slot in 2026 and 2027 and prepare for any scenario. L.A. needs to keep that slot open for someone like Giannis, who has yet to sign his extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, and Jokic.

Giannis’ current deal has a player option in 2027 which Giannis could opt out of. If Giannis opts out, then the Lakers can position themselves in the Giannis sweepstakes. It’s a similar situation with Jokic. Joker has three years left on his current deal with the Denver Nuggets, but he has a player option in 2027. If things go sideways in Denver, Jokic can opt. If that happens, the Lakers can position themselves in the Jokic sweepstakes.

A Luka-Giannis pairing or Luka-Jokic pairing would be something the new Lakers ownership group won’t hesitate to pull the trigger on a massive move.

LeBron James doesn’t want his son Bronny James to call him “Dad” when they are on the court together. But the 39-year-old NBA superstar couldn’t help avoid being a parent for a moment when he pulled a total Dad move just minutes into Lakers Media Day.

At the conclusion of an interview session with Spectrum SportsNet, LeBron and Bronny performed their usual special handshake and as LeBron hopped off his chair he told his son, “Love you, Kid.”

It’s a short and sweet message from a father to a son. LeBron is living every dad’s dream which is to be able to come to work with your son. We may not be able to play with our sons in the NBA, but we all dream about having our boy work with us side by side in whatever professional setting. Whether it’d be at the office or at the family business, being able to be on the same team as your son check’s every dad’s bucket list.

“Just pure joy, man,” LeBron told Spectrum SportsNet. “I don’t have any words. I can speak about me. You guys ask me questions about me. When it comes to him, I’m just at a loss for words.

“Just super proud. Super proud of him to get to this point. He’s a man. He’s ready to go. Whatever questions you got for him, go ahead and let him have it.”

Spectrum’s Chris McGee asked Bronny what would he call his dad on the court. The 19-year-old rookie replied, “I haven’t gotten there yet. It’s probably gonna be, like, Bron. Bron would be the easiest.”

LeBron will be entering his seventh season with the Lakers, and record-tying 22nd season in the NBA. It will be a special season for LeBron because his eldest son will be wearing the same uniform. LeBron James and Bronny James will make history as the first father-son duo to play in the NBA.

The Lakers will be in uncharted territory when the season begins on Oct. 22 as new head coach JJ Redick and his staff, which includes former NBA coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan, will have to chart a plan and navigate around the challenge of carving out minutes for LeBron and Bronny to be on the court together.

It would be foolish for Redick to simply plug in Bronny into the Lakers’ normal rotation given that he’s extremely young and raw, and probably needs time in the G League to polish his game.

“I think Bronny is a young guy,” Redick told Zach Lowe on “The Lowe Post” podcast. “I am very high on him as a basketball player and I said this at his press conference I said he is kinda like our first player that we get to mold and help develop. So we’re going to look at the G League as a tool in our player development system.”

Since he started gaining notoriety in high school, Bronny has been groomed to play pro ball. He and his younger brother, Bryce, both signed with Klutch Sports Group in 2022. The agency was co-founded by LeBron and his close friend Rich Paul. Klutch helped facilitate Bronny’s draft destination, and he eventually landed with the Lakers as the 55th selection (second round) in the 2024 draft.

Bronny’s performance during the NBA summer league should offer an indication of what type of role he’ll have early in his Lakers career. He averaged 8.8 points on 35.0 percent shooting, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in four summer league games. Those are modest numbers, which suggests he’s far from being a regular contributor on the Lakers. But because of the amount of attention on the James family and the prospects of a historic event, Bronny’s learning curve will be accelerated and he will be on the bench when the season tips off.

It’s a tough position to be in if you’re Bronny, but at least he’ll have his dad close by in case he falls. Every good parent will catch their kids if they fall.