What conditions does LeBron James have for taking pay cut with Los Angeles Lakers?
In the wake of the Lakers selecting his son in the NBA Draft, LeBron James’ future has become a focal point, but is he willing to take less money to help?
The Lakers have got a lot going on right now, not the least of which are the doubts surrounding LeBron James’s contractual situation. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer reportedly has a solution but it does not come without stipulations. Let’s take a look.
LeBron James is willing to take a pay cut under the right circumstances.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday, LeBron James could be willing to agree to a decrease in salary in order to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers, however, only on the grounds that it would assist the franchise in securing the services of an impact player in free agency. As per reports, James informed the Lakers that if they can sign an impact player he’d be open to the idea of earning less in order to make the move possible. To be clear, were James to agree to such, it would in theory give the Lakers some wiggle room when it comes to using the full mid-level exception, something that’s worth approximately $13 million.
"LeBron James is willing to take less money ... maybe upwards of $20M so the Lakers can have their full mid-level exception." 😳 @wojespn with an update on Lebron's contract status with the Lakers ✍️ pic.twitter.com/5qheFzb70g
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 30, 2024
Regarding the aforementioned report from ESPN, Wojnarowskis stated that “There’s a sense probably LeBron James starts to really take this year to year, but what he’s telling the Lakers is if they can find an impact player at the mid-level exception about $13 million whether that’s a Klay Thompson, a James Harden, a Jonas Valanciunas, maybe a couple others because this is not a star-laden free agency class, he will take less on his contract to allow the Lakers to add that exception into their payroll.”
Now, assuming James is sincere, that’s big news for the Lakers. Indeed, with all due respect to those who are about to enter free agency, this isn’t the most star-studded class despite the noise about the Warriors’ Klay Thompson and the 76ers’ Harden. That said, both players are still household names, albeit not the ones the Lakers should be looking at. Truthfully, when looking at the roster in LA, it could be argued that the team s in much greater need of a solid center such s Valanciunas, a player who would give Anthony Davis far more freedom, something that could only be a good thing for the offense.
If we’re honest, there are a ton of possibilities in LA if the team can build around James and Davis. Consider for a moment players such as D’Angelo Russell who has now opted in to his contract. There’s also Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and of course the recently drafted Dalton Knecht and LeBron’s own son, Bronny James. This brings us all the way back to the mid-level exemption which if we assume the Lakers use, would almost certainly result in more movement on the roster. At any rate, while things are still up in the air, what is clear is that the team’s biggest star is willing to help.
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