LeBron James' future: Retirement reportedly on table, so is staying with Lakers, moves to Warriors, Cavaliers

"There's nothing left to prove," the second Lakers player reasoned. "It's like playing a video game you've already beaten 80 times. You've done it."

Stay with Lakers

Until a month or so ago, this seemed like the least-likely option. There was a real sense that the Lakers wanted to fully pivot to building around Luka Doncic — and that remains true, a shakeup of roster role players is coming this offseason — and that LeBron was not really part of those plans. He seemed good with that.

Then came March, when the Lakers went 15-2 with a top-five net rating, following the formula coach JJ Redick had been espousing — elite offense and solid defense (10th in the league in March). LeBron, Doncic and Austin Reaves were clicking and fans could see the path to the Lakers winning with those three.

Even after the untimely injuries to Doncic and Reaves at the end of the season — likely sidelining the duo for the first round of the playoffs against Houston, leaving the Lakers major underdogs — LeBron played so well leading the team he was the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week for the final week of the season.

The door is open to a return, The Athletic reports.

According to team and league sources, the Lakers have not closed the door on James returning next season. While it's been the organization's public position that it hopes James retires as a Laker, the run in March was the clearest example of the basketball advantages of pairing him with Dončić and Reaves...

The fact that James agrees with that assessment is crucial, as league sources say he was intrigued and encouraged by what they accomplished during that stretch.

Two things matter most in any scenario where LeBron plays another season: How much of a pay cut is he willing to take, and where does he feel he can win?

With the Lakers, March showed that winning is a possibility in Los Angeles. The Lakers also have LeBron's Bird rights and can theoretically pay him whatever they want to return (the Lakers are in the repeater luxury tax, so how much new owner Mark Walter wants to pay for the roster matters in this calculation). The reality is, LeBron and the Lakers would need to work this out quickly, then he would sit on the sidelines while the Lakers used up to $50 million in cap space plus three picks to trade to reshape the roster (which includes re-signing Reaves). LeBron then would return for whatever money the Lakers could or would offer.

Move to Warriors, Cavaliers

If LeBron decides to play one more season not with the Lakers, the teams that come up most often are the Warriors — who remain interested in reuniting him with this Olympics buddy Stephen Curry, according to this latest report — and Cleveland.

Both teams already have stars in place — Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green with Golden State; Donovan Mitchell and James Harden with Cleveland — and both teams are pushing or past the second apron of the luxury tax already. In both cases, LeBron would have to accept a smaller role on the court and serve as the glue and third man to make it all work — which is exactly what he proved he could do in March with Doncic and Reaves — and take a massive pay cut. Neither team can offer much in terms of salary, although a sign-and-trade is an option.

How well Cleveland does this postseason will have a lot to say about how hard it will pursue LeBron, a deep run may make the Cavaliers less likely to mess with team chemistry.

The story in the Athletic says a LeBron reunion with former coach Tyronn Lue, with LeBron going to the LA Clippers, is not off the table. League sources have told NBC Sports this option is incredibly unlikely.

However, staying with the Clippers would mean not having to move and staying in Los Angeles — at age 41 with his family established in the city and his other businesses there, does he want to relocate everything to Cleveland or the Bay Area for a year?

It's all a lot to consider. But it's something LeBron is not going to think about until this Lakers postseason run is over. He just wants to live. That's all.