LeBron James and his representatives are waiting for the Lakers to present an offer for next season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on the latest edition of The Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link). James will be an unrestricted free agent and hasn’t committed to continuing his career, and he wants to hear the team’s plan before making his next move.

James has a $57.7MM cap hold, so Windhorst said the Lakers need to resolve his financial situation before making their other offseason moves. He cautions that they might have to renounce his free agent rights if James isn’t ready to make a decision on his future before the draft, but the two sides could resume negotiations later in the summer after the team’s other business is resolved.

Windhorst addresses the possibility that James could move on to another team and notes that the Cavaliers and Warriors have frequently been rumored as potential destinations. His best outcome in that case is a sign-and-trade to give him a salary somewhere near the $52.6MM he made this season, but he needs the organization to work with him to make that happen. Windhorst adds that James’ options increase dramatically if he’s willing to play for the mid-level exception or the veteran’s minimum just to get to the team of his choice.

There’s more from Los Angeles:

• A reorganization plan resulted in the layoffs of more than a dozen Lakers employees on Wednesday, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. He notes that the team has continued to undergo changes since the purchase by Mark Walter was approved in October. Sources tell McMenamin that the layoffs affected marketing, team communications, team content and corporate partnerships.
• General manager Rob Pelinka recently said it’s “not the Lakers’ way” to go through losing seasons and rebuild through the draft like Oklahoma City and San Antonio did, so Melissa Rohlin of The California Post examines how the team can compete with those Western Conference powers. Her answer is to find better role players to mix with James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves so L.A. can match the depth of the Thunder or Spurs in future playoff meetings.
• In a subscriber-only piece, Mirjam Swanson of The Los Angeles Times explains that the 3-2-1 lottery reform proposal might benefit the Lakers, but she still sees it as a mistake for the league. Swanson believes the new system is overly complicated and doesn’t give legitimately bad teams a clear path toward improving.