Lakers have not yet made an offer to LeBron! The initial call was just a brief greeting, with no substantial progress in negotiations.

As of June 26, Beijing time, following the end of the Finals and the opening of negotiation windows with in-house free agents, the Lakers made a prompt call to James and his camp. Yet, per insider Shams, subsequent exchanges have been sparse, and no official contract proposal has been extended by the Lakers so far.

"From what I understand, as soon as free agency began—right after the Finals wrapped up and teams could re-sign their own free agents—the Lakers simply made a courtesy call to check in," Shams said. "But since then, there has been virtually no further dialogue between the Lakers and LeBron's team, and no renewal offer has been presented. The Lakers' front office is still figuring out how to best utilize their projected cap space of around $50 million, and based on that outcome, determine what kind of contract to offer LeBron."

This offseason, the Lakers have already finalized a major move by reaching a contract extension with Austin Reaves, a four-year, $185 million deal. However, the team still faces a host of offseason challenges. For instance, starting center Deandre Ayton: if he declines his player option, he becomes an unrestricted free agent, forcing the Lakers to prepare in advance for reinforcement at the center position.

Marcus Smart can also opt out of his player option to test free agency; Rui Hachimura and Luke Kennard are also approaching the end of their contracts. Unquestionably, the biggest priority of all is the decision of the 41-year-old James. The four-time MVP and four-time champion is set to enter his 23rd NBA season.

In the recently concluded season, James averaged 20.9 points per game with a 51.5% shooting percentage, along with 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds, proving he remains in strong form. Lakers basketball operations president and general manager Rob Pelinka stated in last month's season-ending press conference that the team is fully committed to retaining James.

Lakers beat reporter McMenamin recorded Pelinka's exact words: "Few players can maintain such reverence for the game like he does. He has given so much to his teammates and this organization. And right now, our top priority is to reciprocate that with sincerity."

Although negotiations have yet to yield any substantial progress, there is still ample time for both sides to work things out. For reference: in the 2024 offseason, James did not finalize his contract with the Lakers until July 4; last year, he only exercised his player option for the 2025-26 season on June 30.

At this stage, the mere fact that communication has been limited is not enough to conclude that James will leave for another team.