Kenny Smith Sounds Off on LeBron James Amid Lakers Rumors

The future of LeBron James as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers remains up in the air, but recent reports seemingly shed light on a damaged relationship between him and the team.

Los Angeles is out of the playoffs after getting swept in the second round by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, James helped carry the team into that second round, as they advanced past the Houston Rockets without Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves playing in most or all of the series.

Reaves returned to give the Lakers a viable scoring option against OKC, but it wasn’t enough with Luka watching from the bench. And now LeBron’s next move is among the big questions heading into the offseason.

If he doesn’t retire, he could decide to leave Los Angeles for another NBA team to finish his career with. According to a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, King James felt there were examples of “the Lakers taking him for granted,” and specifically a perceived slight that occurred in the locker room.

That happened in late March when James and the Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, giving King James his 1,229th career victory, including regular-season and playoff games.

However, general manager Rob Pelinka handed the game ball to coach JJ Redick rather than James, or Luka, who scored his 15,000th point in the game, or Rui Hachimura, who had scored his 5,000th point.

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While that seemed to bother LeBron, NBA champion and ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” analyst Kenny Smith shared that it was unheard of when he played alongside several greats during his college and professional careers.

“In college, I played with Michael Jordan. In the NBA with Hakeem [Olajuwon]. Never in their tenure did I hear the words ‘my team’ or ‘taken for granted.’ The things they worried about were not cookies, or seats on the plane, or seats in the stands,” he said.

“Did the Lakers take him for granted? I would say no. When he wanted AD to be there, they went out and figured out a way to get him. When they needed to make a trade for Luka, they did it. When they needed to draft your son, they did it!” Smith said on ESPN.

With the offseason underway for James, the legendary NBA superstar is contemplating whether he’ll return to play basketball, and if it will be with the Lakers. It would seem like an ideal spot for him to continue mentoring his son, Bronny James, who is still on the roster. LeBron also appears to have a great relationship with coach Redick and teammates, including Luka.

There have been rumors that King James, who is an unrestricted free agent, will seek an opportunity to finish his career in Cleveland, where it started, or possibly alongside a star on another team, such as the Warriors, where he could team with Steph Curry.

The Lakers may be more interested in building their roster around Luka for the future, which could mean they won’t be as concerned with what they pay LeBron or him leaving. That said, it appears Kenny Smith is telling LeBron to stop worrying about those perceived slights and to be more concerned with his team and teammates’ contention.

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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 12:52 PM.