Lakers make official LeBron James free agency decision
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LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers had a fruitful partnership.
It's officially over.
On Wednesday, the Lakers renounced their rights to James, which is mostly a procedural salary cap move.
But it does signal, at least in some way, what was already known for a while now: James isn't going back to Hollywood.
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A free agent, LeBron is looking at a number of other teams, but it was made clear early in the process that he wouldn't be returning to the Lakers.
To understand just how fascinating the rights renouncing is, check out this list of all the players who the Lakers got rid of the rights of:
The Los Angeles Lakers have officially renounced the free agent rights to LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Dion Waiters, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, Nick Smith Jr, Jared Dudley, Avery Bradley, Jaxson Hayes, Markieff Morris, and Wayne Ellington.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 8, 2026
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It can get a bit complicated, but teams can essentially only hold so many rights at a time. Given the busy offseason the Lakers had, this helps keep their salary sheet in line with what the NBA allows.
It is a funny list, though, with the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard there alongside LeBron.
It's an odd trip down memory lane for Lakers fans, who see names that played for them recently and also ones that haven't been in purple and gold in years.
James is a recent star for the Lakers, but he, like all those others, is gone.