The Los Angeles Lakers’ internal upheaval, highlighted by the Buss family’s recent decision to sell its controlling stake to Dodgers owner Mark Walter, is spilling into previously private tensions with the franchise’s biggest star. According to an ESPN report by Baxter Holmes, team governor Jeanie Buss considered trading LeBron James to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022 while debating whether to offer the four-time MVP a contract extension.
Team sources cited in the story said Buss grew frustrated with what she viewed as James’ “outsized ego” and the influence he and Klutch Sports, the agency representing both James and Anthony Davis, held over roster decisions. She also bristled at the perception that James rescued the struggling franchise when he signed with Los Angeles in 2018, feeling the organization was not credited enough for landing him.
The relationship reportedly deteriorated further after the Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook in July 2021, a move made partly to satisfy James. The trade backfired: Los Angeles went 33-49, missed the playoffs, and Buss felt James avoided responsibility for the outcome, according to people familiar with her thinking.
In the wake of that season, multiple team insiders told ESPN that Buss privately discussed withholding a contract extension from James and floated the possibility of moving him, with the Clippers mentioned as a potential destination. Those conversations occurred before James secured a no-trade clause in his two-year, $104 million deal signed in July 2024.
Tension also surfaced during the 2024 NBA Draft when the Lakers selected Bronny James with the No. 55 pick. Buss believed the gesture should have prompted gratitude from the elder James but felt he did not express it, sources said. Despite her reservations, she ultimately negotiated the new contract that summer, reportedly acknowledging the public backlash that would have followed if the club let him walk.
Ownership changes have amplified the uncertainty. Although Jeanie Buss will remain governor for at least five years under terms of the sale, her brothers Joey and Jesse Buss were recently dismissed from their front-office posts, adding to organizational friction.
James, who exercised his player option for the 2025-26 season, is set to become a free agent this summer. His long run of All-Star Game starts—21 seasons—ended this year after missing 14 games early in the schedule, leaving his future with the Lakers and his standing within the franchise increasingly in question.
Source: LakersNation
