Should the Lakers be worried about LeBron James’ looming extension?

For the better part of the last month, the Los Angeles Lakers' offseason has been in a holding pattern, with them staring down the Brooklyn Nets and neither side blinking. The game of chicken could have a shakeup this week, though, with LeBron James able to sign an extension on Aug. 4.

James’ voice carries a lot of weight and how he handles his upcoming contract negotiations will have ripple effects on not just how the Lakers handle the rest of the summer, but also how other teams approach discussions with the Lakers. As a result, there are more than a few parties eagerly anticipating that Aug. 4 deadline.

On this week’s episode of “Can U Dig It,” a podcast by the Silver Screen & Roll network, I am joined by our own Cooper Halpern to discuss a number of topics with LeBron’s extension at the center of it. To open the episode, though, we talk about the tragic passing of Bill Russell on Sunday and the impact he had on the generations that came after him, specifically Kobe Bryant.

Then, the discussion turns to James and his contract extension and everything that surrounds it. We make our predictions for what he will do on Aug. 4, discuss the ramifications of either choice and whether that makes the Lakers more or less likely to make moves on the trade market. We also look at the possibility of him making yet another return to Cleveland with the Cavaliers able to sign him next summer as well.

We wrap the show by doing a very early preview of some of the notable positional battles that will likely develop once the preseason starts, including Austin Reaves in a pair of them.

You can listen to all that and more on our latest episode in the player embedded below, and to make sure you don’t miss a single one moving forward, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude. And for a short-form recap pod, check out Lakers Lowdown, in which Anthony Irwin recaps the previous day’s news and gets you ready for the day ahead in LakerLand, every weekday morning on the Silver Screen & Roll Podcast feed.