LeBron James' future with the Los Angeles Lakers is unclear, but James reportedly did something during the 2023-24 season that made those within the Lakers organization feel good about the likelihood of him sticking around.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported in February that the Golden State Warriors made an attempt to acquire James at the trade deadline; however, the Lakers had no interest, and James let the Warriors know through his agent, Rich Paul, that he wanted to remain in L.A.

According to Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic, people with the Lakers "saw it as a sign that he truly valued being part of the Lakers organization," when James turned down the chance to play alongside Stephen Curry with the Warriors.

That could be a sign that James favors staying with the Lakers moving forward, but he can become a free agent this offseason if he declines the $51.4 million player option in his contract.

Charania, Buha and Amick noted that James intends to weigh his options this offseason, with opting in and opting out both being under consideration.

It was also reported that James intends to play up to two more years, but if he has any interest in going beyond that, the Lakers would be willing to sign him to a three-year, $164 million maximum extension.

James is the oldest player in the NBA this season at 39, but he continued to prove why he is one of the greatest players in the history of basketball.

His 71 regular-season games played were his most since 2017-18, and he averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, 2.1 three-pointers made and 1.3 steals, while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and a career-best 41.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Also, while the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets eliminated the Lakers in five games in the first round of the playoffs, the 20-time All-Star was as good as ever during the postseason.

LeBron put up 27.8 points, 8.8 assists, 6.8 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.0 three-pointers made per game, and he is arguably the biggest reason the Lakers were competitive with the Nuggets despite being a No. 7 seed.

It is fair to wonder if things would have been different for James this season had he approved a trade to the Warriors, as it would have allowed him to play alongside their Big Three of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, assuming none of them would have been included in the trade.

Curry, Thompson and Green helped the Dubs win four championships over an eight-year span, but they were only able to lead the Warriors to a 46-36 record this season, and they were knocked out in the postseason play-in tournament.

James likely could have gotten them over the hump and into the playoffs, but it can be argued that he has a better supporting cast in L.A. with Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell and Co.

LeBron and the Lakers have not won a championship since 2020, but they reached the Western Conference Finals last season, and even though the Nuggets eliminated them in five games this year, two of the losses were by only two points each.

The potential is seemingly there for the Lakers to contend for a championship with some roster tweaks, and while James will consider his options, choosing the Lakers over the Warriors could be a sign that remaining in L.A. is his preference moving forward.