NBA executives are seemingly not at all buying that LeBron James could walk away from the NBA this off-season.
James shocked reporters when he chose not to confirm that he'd be coming back for his 21st season earlier this week, and is set to decide his future over the coming weeks.
James' season ended when his Los Angeles Lakers were swept out of the playoffs, falling in the Western Conference Finals to the the Denver Nuggets - winning all four games as Nikola Jokic starred and outshone James and Anthony Davis.
That had been in spite of a heroic effort from 39-year-old James, who put up the highest-scoring postseason half in his entire career with 31 points inside the first.
James did all that while playing through a foot injury, which he stated he had dealt with for some time and intends to get it looked at - potentially requiring surgery that could see him sidelined for multiple months.
All the led to the question on whether he could hang it up, before admitting that he was unsure on his future at this point.
It would be a crushing blow to the Lakers should James retire, but it appears NBA chiefs do not see this as at all likely, with one unnamed executive believing James is simply looking to control the narrative.
According to Bleacher Report, sources around the league don't envision James retiring, with one Western Conference executive saying: "LeBron will suit up next year. He just changed the conversation. Now we're not talking about a sweep, we're talking about LeBron and retirement. He loves to control the narrative."
That theory comes with James hugely financially incentivised to remain with the Lakers, having two-year left on his contract that would guarantee him up to $100 million - having a player option to extend at the end of 2024.
If he was to retire, then he would be losing out on up to $100million of earning from the big-money contract he signed with the Lakers. He'd also pass up on his long-running dream to eventually share the court with his son, Bronny.
NBA sources also told Bleacher Report that James could be using this as a leverage tactic, forcing their front office to consider chasing Kyrie Irving - who the Lakers are heavily rumoured to be targeting.
