Officially refute the rumor! Pelinka, don t pretend anymore?

This is the thing. Recently, a senior BR reporter Yaron Weitzman posted a message saying: A source familiar with the Lakers and James revealed that James wants to get an early renewal, but the Lakers are not interested in it.

However, in less than a day, the reporter denied the rumors about his news. He added corrections/notations to his original article, with the specific content: The content of this article has been modified. James's agent said that he did not ask the Lakers for an early renewal.

Previously, in July, Ritchie and Paul publicly stated in an interview that James never asked the Lakers about early renewal or transaction-related matters this summer.

At the same time, Shams also stated in the latest live show: James is not involved in the Lakers' offseason operation affairs, he will attend media day and training camp on time, and we will see the actual status of the Lakers, but James has not raised any questions about the team affairs, he has been enjoying his summer.

The Lakers' offseason situation must be known to many fans. They signed Laravia, Smart, Ayton and others. Among them, the two major buyouts and signings by Smart and Ayton were recruited by Doncic himself, and James, as Shams said, has been enjoying the summer.

It is hard to say whether James' voice in the Lakers has declined, but objectively speaking, James' situation is indeed a bit subtle. The new season will be the first time in his 23 years of his career to play as a real contract year (without a player option when the contract expires, and directly becoming a free agent). At the same time, Pelinka's attitude towards James in the interview also sounds a bit different.

In the latest interview, when asked about James' prospects for an expiration contract, Pelinka said: "About James and his future, the first thing we do is to give him absolute respect, let him choose the future with his family, and choose him to play for a few more years. He won this right and he is the best candidate to answer this question."

And when asked whether the Lakers would keep him if James intends to renew his contract. Pelinka's answer was: "I said before that we would be happy to see James retire as a Laker, and that would be a positive story." In 2024, when James had the opportunity to become a free agent, how Shams reported: The Lakers "strongly" hoped that James would stay and were willing to discuss with him the three-year, $164 million maximum salary renewal that would be eligible to sign this summer (at the time).

Meanwhile, Lakers' reporter Dave McMenamin reported this: The Lakers intend to get James back on whatever terms he wants, whether it's a one-year, two-year or three-year contract, and they hope to keep James wearing the Lakers jersey until he retires, no matter when.

The final result at that time was that James signed a 1+1 contract with the Lakers with a trade veto. Not only that, the Lakers also selected Brownie at the draft that year, satisfying the wish of James and his son on the same stage (of course, it also brought huge traffic to the Lakers).

You can clearly see the difference. Before 2024, James will be the Lakers' signature. Whether it is the maximum salary or the trade veto, the team will try their best to meet all his requirements just to keep him.

But after Doncic arrived, everything was different. James is no longer the only star of the Lakers. Although he was still in the second team last season, and although he still has huge traffic, the Lakers are no longer worried about losing him.

In fact, some things can be seen from Pelinka's answer:

1. "I'm happy to see James retire in the Lakers" = the renewal has not been agreed on yet

2. "Respect James' choice" = You can stay, but leaving may not be impossible

Pure personal point of view. The Lakers still hope that James stays and retires as a Lakers player. After all, this can bring huge exposure and traffic to the Lakers, but compared to 2024, they are no longer so urgent. At least from this summer, the Lakers have not actively proposed a renewal of "satisfied everything" like last year.

Perhaps, James will continue to stay in the Lakers after his contract expires next year, but even if he is still a best-squad and All-Star player at that time, the Lakers may start from the future of "building the team with Doncic" and will not provide James with a maximum salary.

Of course, one thing needs to be said is that the Lakers are not James's only choice.

Shams' latest report: James' focus is only on this season, and his future after this season depends on how the team performs, how their position and how their season starts. He did make a request that the team operates as a championship team and can reach the championship.

Compared to staying in the Lakers, the championship may be what James values ​​most at this stage. If the Lakers do not perform ideally in the new season, it is not ruled out that James will leave again. What James has done in the past few years has always held the decision of being a player in his own hands, and this time is no exception.

However, seeing the difference between James' situation and the team's contract renewal attitude last year, I can't help but sigh that whether it is the Lakers or the League, it is the second wave of the Yangtze River pushing the previous wave. The new season may be the most unique season in James' career. Looking forward to his performance.