LeBron James has a pivotal $52.6 million player option to consider after the Los Angeles Lakers’ premature playoff departure.
Two days after Luka Doncic appeared in the news for his viral workout video (showing he’s taking his fitness and condition seriously after receiving significant criticism recently), James received a major contract prediction from CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn.
“All of the reporting to this point suggests that James is expected to opt into the final year and $52.6 million on his current deal,” Quinn wrote last Thursday.
“Should James and Dorian Finney-Smith pick up their player options for next season, the Lakers would enter the offseason roughly $4 million below the first-apron threshold and around $16 million below the second."
"During the season, teams below the first apron can sign anyone waived on the buyout market. Teams above the first apron can only sign bought-out players if their previous salaries were below the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.”
"All in all, this is a pretty significant amount of flexibility we're talking about here. There are other ways that the Lakers could generate it, most simply by dumping salary through trades. By far the simplest, though, would be a sacrifice on James' part (opt out and sign team friendly deal with Lakers).”
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At age 40, James did all he could to help the Lakers make a deep postseason run.
Although it helped to share the floor with Doncic, a young superstar point guard, during the second half of the season, the Anthony Davis–less franchise was dominated in the paint by the Minnesota Timberwolves in their 4-1 opening-round playoff loss.
Still, James, a physically gifted 6-foot-9 forward with arguably the highest basketball IQ in the league, played high-level postseason basketball for the third consecutive season.
The four-time NBA Finals MVP poured in 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, shooting 48.9% from the field and 35.7% from deep.
Regarding James’ looming contract decision, it’s challenging to predict the direction the 21-time All-Star is leaning toward.
Although ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that James will likely opt into his player option, Quinn wisely pointed out that doing so could negatively affect Los Angeles’ ability to bolster its roster heading into the 2025-26 campaign.
The clock is ticking for the 22-year veteran to map out his future with the Lakers.
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