LeBron James Jeanie Buss Rich Paul Patch Up Lakers Drama

Merlin sees a quiet truce forming in Los Angeles. After a report said Jeanie Buss privately grumbled about LeBron James and Klutch's influence, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says Buss, James and Rich Paul have been meeting to "clear any air, any scar tissue that exists." LeBron pushed back, saying "We never talked" and that the relationship has "always been mutual" and respectful, while Buss called it "completely unfair to him." Merlin notes the stakes are high. LeBron is 41 and can be a free agent after 2025-26, the Lakers still chase a title and sit sixth in the West. These talks are as much about optics as they are about keeping a fragile partnership intact. If the trio truly buries the hatchet, Los Angeles increases its chances to build around Dončić, LeBron and Austin Reaves for one more run.