Lakers to speak with LeBron James in the coming days about his future after Nuggets sweep

The Los Angeles Lakers will talk to LeBron James in the coming days and hope he will stay with them despite saying he would consider retiring in the offseason after leaving the team’s playoffs.

James said after his team was knocked out by Denver in Monday’s Western Conference Finals late in the minimum four games, he had a lot to think about his basketball future.

The 38-year-old has previously skipped his team’s post-season exit interviews, but his decision to do so on Tuesday left Lakers fans lingering over his intentions following the puzzling post-game comments.

“LeBron has given as much to the game of basketball as anyone who has ever played. When you do that, you earn the right to decide whether to give more,” says general manager Rob Pelinka.

“We will contact him and his team and just support him. Obviously we hope his career continues, but we want to give him time to have that tipping point and support him through it.”

James and the Los Angeles Lakers were swept Monday night by the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets

Despite James’ 40-point performance, including a career playoff-best 31 points in the first half, the seventh-seeded Lakers were swept by the top-seeded Nuggets with a 113-111 loss in Game 4 on Monday night, ending James’ effort to winning his fifth career championship in his 20th NBA season.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham provided a laugh at the end-of-season media conference.

“After such a heavy loss, the work we’ve put in this season, I think after last night I was ready to retire too,” he said.

James’ admission that he is considering retirement came as a surprise, as the four-time NBA champion still plays at a high level and has previously expressed a desire to play in the pros with his eldest son, a possibility that could not happen until 2024. -25 season.

Pelinka said he hopes to keep much of the Lakers’ current core around James and Anthony Davis, calling roster continuity “a high priority” after several years of major annual changes. But the GM also reiterated that he considers James and Davis to be the pillars of his roster, and James’ presence is vital to their hopes of continuing the progress they’ve made since February.

Los Angeles was one of the NBA’s best teams after making several moves at the trade deadline and finishing the regular season 18-8, even without James. The Lakers then made an impressive run to the conference finals, defeating second-seeded Memphis and defending champion Golden State, but ran out of steam against the powerhouse Nuggets.

The Lakers currently have five players under contract for next season, including James, but several key contributors to their playoff run are free agents.

Los Angeles has the schedule flexibility to make big moves, but Pelinka wants to keep this group together.

The 38-year-old was denied by the Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon on the last possession in the loss

Pelinka made it clear that he intends to do everything possible to re-capture Austin Reaves, the undiscovered second-year pro who grabbed a runway and effectively became the Lakers’ third offensive option.

Reaves and Rui Hachimura are restricted free agents, but Pelinka intends to keep both.

The Lakers’ most prominent unrestricted free agent is D’Angelo Russell, who put up some outstanding performances after returning to Los Angeles as a trade deadline, but already struggled enough in the playoffs to lose his starting job in Game 4. to lose.

Dennis Schröder, the veteran point guard who served in multiple roles for Los Angeles and eventually replaced Russell, is also an unrestricted free agent along with big man Wenyen Gabriel.