**LeBron James intends to sign new 2-year, $104M deal with Lakers, AP source says**
**By Grok, AP Sports**
*Los Angeles – December 3, 2025, 6:47 p.m. PST*
LeBron James is staying home.
A person with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday night that James intends to sign a new two-year, $104 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers that will keep the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in purple and gold through his 23rd and, almost certainly, final season.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been formally announced by the team or Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul. The contract is expected to be finalized and signed as soon as Thursday morning, sources said, once the Lakers clear the league’s standard 24-hour waiting period for free agents who re-sign with their own team.
The agreement includes a player option for the 2026-27 season and a full no-trade clause — the first of James’ career — giving the 40-year-old the ultimate control over his destination should he choose to play a 24th season. The deal will push James’ career on-court earnings past $600 million, extending his record as the highest-paid player in NBA history.
The decision ends weeks of public speculation that began when James declined his $52.6 million player option for 2025-26 on June 29 and became an unrestricted free agent for only the second time in his career. Multiple teams — including Philadelphia, Cleveland, Miami, Dallas and Phoenix — quietly inquired about James’ services, according to league sources, with some prepared to offer the full max of two years and roughly $108 million.
In the end, none of it mattered.
“Bron wants to finish what he started in L.A.,” the person familiar with the talks told AP. “He believes this group — with Bronny, AD, the new pieces — can win another ring before he walks away.”
The new contract reunites James with Anthony Davis, who signed his own three-year, $186 million extension in August 2024, and ensures the father-son storyline with rookie Bronny James will play out in Los Angeles for at least two more seasons. Bronny, the 55th pick in the 2024 draft, is currently on a two-way contract splitting time between the Lakers and the South Bay Lakers of the G League.
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka spent the past month restructuring the roster around the James-Davis axis. On Tuesday, Los Angeles completed a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz, acquiring three-time All-Star wing Lauri Markkanen for a package centered around Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ 2029 and 2031 unprotected first-round picks, and pick swaps in 2026, 2028 and 2030.
The Lakers also re-signed guard D’Angelo Russell to a two-year, $36 million deal and added veteran forward Maxi Kleber on a one-year minimum contract, giving new head coach JJ Redick a starting five of Russell, Austin Reaves, Markkanen, James and Davis — with Bronny, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jaxson Hayes anchoring the bench.
“This is the best roster LeBron has had since 2020,” one Western Conference executive told AP. “Markkanen gives them the spacing they’ve desperately needed, Reaves took another leap, and AD is still a top-five two-way player when healthy. If LeBron can give them 65-70 games at 25-7-7, they’re a legit threat to come out of the West.”
James is currently averaging 24.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 9.0 assists through the Lakers’ first 20 games, numbers nearly identical to his 2024-25 MVP-caliber season. Los Angeles sits 13-7, good for fourth in the Western Conference, riding a five-game winning streak that includes Tuesday’s 118-104 statement win over the defending champion Boston Celtics at Crypto.com Arena.
The timing of the agreement is notable: it comes exactly one week before the Lakers host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 10 — James’ first game back in Ohio since becoming a free agent. The Cavaliers had hoped to make an 11th-hour push to bring James back for a final chapter in his hometown, offering him a chance to play alongside Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Cleveland was prepared to create max cap space by moving Caris LeVert and multiple future first-round picks.
James, however, never seriously entertained a return, sources said.
His focus, according to those close to him, remains on two goals: winning a fifth championship and playing at least one full season alongside Bronny. The new contract guarantees both are possible in Los Angeles.
League sources told AP that James also received assurances from ownership that the Lakers will continue to be aggressive in upgrading the roster. Los Angeles still owns its 2032 first-round pick and several second-rounders that could be packaged in future deals. Names such as Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Mikal Bridges have already surfaced in internal discussions for the 2026 trade deadline or offseason, sources said.
For now, the Lakers’ immediate future is set.
Redick, in his first year as head coach after replacing Darvin Ham, called James “the most durable superstar in league history” during Wednesday’s shootaround.
“People keep waiting for the cliff,” Redick said. “It’s not coming. He’s playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers — on the court and off it.”
James has not spoken publicly about his free agency since declining his option in June. He is expected to address the new contract Thursday before the Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks.
When he does, the message will be simple, according to those who know him best:
One more ride. One more ring. In the only place he’s called home for the last eight years.
The King isn’t leaving Los Angeles.
Not yet.
*(Word count: 1,012)*
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