Even with NBA free agency nearing its end, a few questions still stand to marinate on all the way through the upcoming season. Between the implications of LeBron's last year under his current contract to how the Raptors' front office changes could affect their shiny new All-Star, these are the latest rumors around the NBA.
Is this the end of LeBron's career?
Even after picking up his player option with the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA pundits everywhere were calling their shots on where LeBron James was going to go next after the surely inevitable buyout or trade. And yet, despite the rumors, no actual word from the Lakers nor James' camp said a peep to confirm that there was any interest from either party in the star leaving Los Angeles. But, an ESPN reporter hinted at a big move after the upcoming season.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, the 2025-26 NBA season could be James' last before retirement.
"I think we have to start thinking that this could be his last year in the league," said McMenamin, h/t BasketNews. "Rich Paul [James' agent] told me there was no extension talk, because they didn't ask for an extension. They didn't broach the subject. Now, you could say, why didn't the Lakers offer it? Sure, you could. But Paul's point to me was this wasn't a point of tension.
"It's not something that they were pursuing. So I think you look at it as, yeah, there's a very limited time remaining in his career. We kinda already knew that. We knew that, basically, since he reached 20 years in the league, he's gone into every offseason contemplating retirement."
In retrospect, it is poetic that LeBron's record-setting 23rd season lines up with the last year of his current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers -- enough so to start a firestorm of speculation as to what his next steps are after the calendar flips from 2026 onward. Could we be in to witness LeBron's Last Dance without knowing it?
Could Chris Paul come home?
And sadly, we're not talking about the New Orleans Pelicans (seriously, after playing a part in saving the city's morale, a NOLA CP3 jersey now would fly off shelves).
Almost as soon as his one-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs was up, Chris Paul was linked to the Los Angeles Clippers. And despite the temptation to label this potential homecoming as simple nostalgia bait (granted, the Lob City Era was arguably the best that LA's little brother team has ever had), Paul makes a whole lot of sense. Even after signing Bradley Beal, the Clippers' backcourt is not fleshed out, as there is no one sitting behind James Harden besides Bogdan Bogdanovic.
ESPN's Shams Charania said it best himself:
“The one need for the Clippers right now is the point guard position, a reverse guard coming off the bench...I’m told they have Chris Paul on their radar among some other free agent guards as well."
And Paul is still a rock solid point guard. Despite having turned 40 in May, he not only played, but started all 82 games for San Antonio, managing to average a near double-double (8.8 PPG, 7.4 APG). LA could legitimately use him, and the basketball gods know they'll need someone to spell Harden.
Brandon Ingram's time in Toronto might be short-lived
Masai Ujiri leaves Toronto's front office with a gaping hole in his wake. Under his twelve-year tenure, the Raptors enjoyed their greatest era ever with a laundry list of accomplishments -- the franchise's first Conference Finals and Championship happened under his watch, first as general manager/vice president and then as president 2016 onward. And now, it's safe to say Toronto brass is scrambling to find who can possibly fill his shoes.
TSN's Josh Lewenberg makes a compelling case for the Raptors to look in-house to Ujiri's general manager Bobby Webster. Where Webster's (or whoever's) potential hiring concerns Brandon Ingram is what Lewenberg noted about the deal that brought Ingram to Toronto. According to Lewenberg, Ujiri was far and away the most fervent driver behind the deal, much to the chagrin of most of the rest of the front office.
Ingram was never quite able to suit up for the Raptors, getting shut down for a PRP injection in early April. Who knows how he and Toronto's current favorite son Scottie Barnes will fit together. And based on his injury history, it's also fair to ask how much they'll actually get a chance to answer that question.
It's not currently known who the Raptors will hire to replace Ujiri, but whoever they choose may play a role in whether or not Ingram stays in Toronto.