Could This Be LeBron's Retirement Season? Plus, Bronny and Koloko Shine, Knecht Struggles (Again)

Context is key in most things. So when it comes to LeBron James, would the context around the conversation about his offseason feelings change if this was going to be his last season? 

It's something that needs to be considered, at least, says ESPN's Dave McMenamin: "I think we have to start thinking that this could be his last year in the league," ESPN's Dave McMenamin said. "Rich Paul [James' agent] told me there was no extension talk, because they didn't ask for an extension. They didn't broach the subject. Now, you could say, why didn't the Lakers offer it? Sure, you could. But Paul's point to me was this wasn't a point of tension.... It's not something that they were pursuing. So I think you look at it as, yeah, there's a very limited time remaining in his career," McMenamin continued. "We kinda already knew that. We knew that, basically, since he reached 20 years in the league, he's gone into every offseason contemplating retirement."

It would certainly make sense for LeBron to want to the Lakers to be as aggressive as possible if this is his swan song... but at the same time, does anyone think James would have less urgency to find the best chance of winning if he had two seasons left? Or that this is any different than basically every other offseason of his career? 

Sure, this is the first time in a long time he has a definitive end point to his contract that he doesn't control... but it's also the first time in a long time (in this case, ever) that LeBron has no real leverage other than PR. 

It remains a fascinating situation, because the league has never seen anything like this. There's just no comp. 

Meanwhile... Bronny continues to thrive in Summer League, while Dalton Knecht continues to struggle. 

 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: Last season for Bronny? 

 

SEGMENT 2: Could that explain the offseason? 

 

SEGMENT 3: SPL update! 

 

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