LeBron James might find himself at the center of a potential tampering scandal after a leaked picture showed the Lakers star meeting with the Philadelphia 76ers’ management. The picture implicated LeBron in a meeting with head coach Nick Nurse and GM Daryl Morey, leading many to believe he might be leaving LA. The possibility cannot be ruled out with the superstar hitting free agency soon. ESPN analyst Shams Charania was skeptical about the validity of the viral picture but remarked that should the picture turn out to be real, “This would be massive, massive, massive levels of tampering if this were real”. But what exactly did he mean?

The NBA’s rules are clear; no member of the organization, not even coaches, players, executives, or owners, can approach a player of a rival team to lure him to play for them until the day after the NBA Finals ends. This involves contacting the player’s agent to discuss a potential trade or openly expressing interest in obtaining the player. In the league, tampering carries serious and diverse sanctions. A team official faces a fine of up to $10 million if found guilty. Active players may be banned from the game.

In addition, teams that violate these policies risk having deals overturned, draft picks taken away, and free-agent signings canceled. In fact, the 76ers have been penalized in the past for tampering with the Danuel House Jr. and P.J. Tucker deals. Notably, even Joel Embiid recently came under a lot of scrutiny after he made a sneaky move on live television to allegedly try and gesture that the Sixers were trying to acquire PG-13. However, the case didn’t end up being looked at. Regardless, coming back to this story’s centerpiece, the bigger question is; Does LeBron James want to leave LA? And if yes, what does the future hold for him?

Is the Lakers & LeBron James saga coming to an end?

The Lakers are reportedly doing everything in their power to keep LeBron James. Naturally, why would they want to let go of the superstar? According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, “The Lakers intend to have LeBron James come back on any term that he wants to. Whether that be a one-year deal, two-year deal, three-year deal, whatever. They’d love to continue to have LeBron James in the purple and gold until he calls it quits, whenever that may be.” Notably, LeBron’s player option is due June 29th and his son Bronny‘s draft will be finalized next week.

He has voiced his desire to play alongside his son before retiring. ESPN’s latest mock draft projects Bronny at #52, a pick held by the Golden State Warriors. On the other hand, the Lakers could use their #55 pick this year and might attempt to acquire Bronny to make his dad stay. And importantly, the player himself has expressed wishes to stay in LA in an interview. He said, “I am a Laker and I’m happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years and hopefully it stays that way. But I don’t have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I’ll be in. Hopefully, it’s with the Lakers. It’s a great organization, so many greats. But we’ll see.”

When the coaching gig seemed to be going towards Dan Hurley, the likelihood of him drafting Bronny seemed even more likely. That’s because the UConn coach appreciates the 19-year-old and the younger talent pool. So, the next few weeks will be crucial for the LA Lakers. With JJ Redick potentially becoming head coach after the whole Hurley saga, LeBron James’ contract decision, and the possibility of them using their draft picks to draft and not trade players, they’re headed for major changes.