Lakers News: Brian Windhorst Suggests LeBron James Has No Plans of Leaving LA

ESPN's Brian Windhorst suggests that LeBron James will remain a Laker.

Next week is an important week that will define the future of the Lakers franchise. Superstar LeBron James, who's on the final year of his current contract, is eligible on Thursday, August 4th, to sign an extension with LA. How LeBron James handles the extension could provide a window into what the next few years in Lakers Land will look like.

In a recent appearance on the ESPN Daily podcast with Pablo Torre, NBA insider Brian Windhorst, who's been plugged in on each and every step of LeBron's basketball career dating back to high school, noted that he doesn't believe LeBron has any current plans of bolting from LA.

"I don't sense that LeBron wants to leave the Lakers."

However, the former Cleveland Cavaliers beat writer highlighted the fact that Cleveland will have plenty of salary cap space next summer and could be in play for LeBron if he doesn't ink an extension with the Lakers and hits free agency.

"But I would be remiss not to point out that the Cavs have positioned themselves to have huge salary cap space next summer, when LeBron could potentially be a free agent."

Another factor to consider is the ever-savvy LeBron waiting to see how the new NBA collective bargaining agreement affects max player salaries and extension language. The current CBA runs through the 2023-2024 season, but the two sides can negotiate beforehand.

Either way, next Thursday will be a crucial indicator for whether or not LeBron wants to finish his career in purple and gold.