LeBron James looks unlikely to stay with Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the season, with the 38-year-old's no-trade clause in his contract expiring. James is clearly unhappy at the Lakers who look set to miss out on the play-offs again. Even as his 20-year career draws to its end, James is not satisfied to just draw his considerable salary and endorsements amounting to tens of millions a year. He is still glory hunting.
The Lakers are yet to make a meaningful trade this season to bolster their roster, despite James saying repeatedly he didn't want to waste the last few years of his career.
Still highly motivated, James looks certain to leave the Crypto.com Arena this summer. A possible move could be an emotional return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs have impressed this season after trading for Donovan Mitchell, and are currently fourth in the Eastern Conference.
The Cavs have a huge amount of salary cap room for next summer to make it possible to bid for a superstar free agent, but could potentially offset that if they make a trade with the Lakers. The opportunity to have Ohio's hometown hero end his career where it started may be too strong for James to reject.
James and the New York Knicks have been linked at least three times now, and at one point it seemed inevitable that ‘The King’ would be playing at the Garden. The closest the Knicks got was when they pushed hard to sign him in free agency in 2010, even bringing in James Gandolfini to act out a mock scene from ‘The Sopranos’ to try and convince him to join.
The Houston Rockets are at rock bottom right now but that means they are currently positioned to get one of the top picks in this year's draft. They have a team of young prospects and could tempt James if suitably impressed.
The Chicago Bulls, like the Rockets, are on the brink of rebuild and could lure him too. A move to the Bulls would give James the chance to compete for another title in another franchise and cement his legacy - in the venue his generational rival Michael Jordan won six titles in.
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