LeBron James executes player options as hopes of winning the championship gradually fade, trading rumors are everywhere

LeBron James chose to execute the final year player option, a one-year contract for his 23rd season, which paid more than $52 million, which would be his eighth season in Los Angeles.

James fulfilled what he called his dream of longevity and played side by side with his son Brownie on the Lakers' field last season and helped the Los Angeles Lakers into the playoffs as a partner of Luca Doncic.

He said the goal is still to win the championship, which is his main purpose of participating.

But even LeBron seems convinced that the best chance to win the Larry O'Neal trophy will not be in Los Angeles.

According to his agent Ritchie Paul, James "knows that the Lakers are laying the foundation for the future. He understands that. But he values ​​the real-life opportunity to win everything. We are very grateful for the eight-year partnership with Jenny (Bass) and Rob (Pellinka) and think the Lakers are an important part of his career."

There are a lot of signals hidden in a series of sentences by Paul, who did not mention that James is part of the future or in the franchise. The neon tone of this snapshot shared by Paul hints that other teams James will be available—and interested.

If the Lakers do choose to trade James, then teams like the Golden State Warriors (with restricted free agent Jonathan Cumingga under 25), the Chicago Bulls (with Josh Gidey) and the Philadelphia 76ers (with Rising Star Quentin Grimes), and teams with draft capital may become the ideal trading partners for the Lakers. The Warriors have become an AARP ad for the NBA, starring Stephen Curry, Drummond Green and Jimmy Butler. We all felt the brotherhood between James and Curry last summer in Paris and on the All-Star stage.

Will the Golden State Warriors compete with those literal old men? I see that this lineup is not as good as the Thunder in seven minutes, let alone the seven-game series.

Chicago has no competitiveness at all. It's totally reasonable to trade Gidey out, because Gidey is not a high-scoring player, but he can activate the team as a point guard who has both passing and rebounding. If a young mainstay is introduced through claiming and trading, can be paired with Kobe White and pull the team off the edge of the playoffs, the Bulls have made an informed decision.

Grimes is an interesting case, but also the kind of player who would be more popular on teams outside of Philadelphia, simply because of Daryl Morey’s record in stacking superstars. Adding James at the end of Joel Embiid's career and Paul George was unsure after knee surgery, the star combination was like a worthless player for the Sixers.

Maybe you can imagine James in Memphis, but I'm not sure if that will come true. Will he play No. 2 or No. 3 with the Timberwolves? How much impact will this have on Minnesota?

James is not popular. The problem is that timing and number of people cannot match to make things successful.

Of course, James may receive text messages from old friends Pat Rivers and Eric Spoelstra, inviting him to party at South Beach. But which of these actions actually brings LeBron closer to achieving more championships he desires?