LeBron James, Lakers agree to 2-year, $104 million deal
The LeBron James era in Los Angeles won’t be coming to an end any time soon as he has reportedly re-signed with the Lakers.
As was expected and known, LeBron James will remain with the Lakers. The only question was how much his contract would be worth.
Now we know with Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reporting, that LeBron signed a two-year $104 million deal.
ESPN story on LeBron James agreeing to a new deal to return to the Lakers https://t.co/vPfsIqR7rM
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2024
James will have a player option next summer and a no-trade clause as part of his new two-year, $104M maximum deal with the Lakers, sources said. https://t.co/Fm9VEVSkr7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
The contract includes a no-trade clause for James and a player option for the 2025-26 season. This means he can review the situation next summer and decide if he wants to remain a Laker or opt out again and become an unrestricted free agent.
Signing a one-plus-one deal will help James recoup some of the money he sacrificed this offseason and keeps the pressure on the Lakers to make win-now moves.
Those moves will be harder now that the Lakers have this maximum deal, but as Wojnarowski reported, James’ agent, Rich Paul, will discuss with vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka the possibility of taking $1 million or so below the maximum to keep the Lakers under the $188.9 million second apron.
That would help Los Angeles tremendously, as no team wants to be under those restrictions, but the idea of the Lakers getting a player for the full mid-level exception is now gone.
It was reported that James was willing to take less than a max contract for an impact player, but with Klay Thompson opting to go to the Dallas Mavericks, it seems such a scenario wasn’t found and the King will remain in Los Angeles as a max player.
Retaining a player like LeBron is hard to do. The Lakers should get credit in that regard, but failing to allure a player to join the team when he was reportedly willing to sacrifice money is something the franchise should get criticized for.
This new contract guarantees that LeBron will be a Laker for at least seven years, tying Los Angeles with Cleveland as his longest stint on a team. He was a Cleveland Cavalier for seven years, from 2003-10, before taking his talents to Miami.
The 39-year-old forward is still one of the best players in the league. Last season, James made the All-NBA Third Team and averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding.
This live story will be updated.
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