Getty LeBron James stares ahead.
The talk of the early offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers has been about who they’re going to hire as head coach and which player the front office plans to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis if James picks up his player option.
Proposing five “surprising moves we could see,” Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report listed James declining the option and signing as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Beyond simply giving James a chance to rejoin the Eastern Conference and escape the wild West, the Sixers have two legitimate co-stars in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey,” Buckley wrote on June 12. “They also basically have a blank-slate roster around their stars, meaning the supporting cast could be tailor-made to the trio’s strengths.
“If James bases his decision solely on basketball, Philly should have a real chance,” Buckley wrote. “Yes, he won a title in L.A., but that was now five seasons ago with a dramatically different roster. This group just got the healthiest season yet from the James-Davis duo and still couldn’t manage better than a solid-but-not-spectacular .573 winning percentage and first-round exit.”
LeBron James’ Contracts He Could Sign
James is eligible to sign a new contract this offseason, and, according to Sam Quinn of CBS Sports, three potential contract possibilities would make sense for him.
James, who will turn 40 in December 2024, cannot agree to a contract longer than three years because the NBA has an Over-38 Rule, which prohibits teams from “paying older players after they retire as a form of cap circumvention.”
“The most lucrative contract James can sign this offseason would come in the form of an opt-in and eventual extension, most likely with the Lakers, but potentially with another team through a trade,” Quinn wrote on June 1. “That deal would start at his option number, which is roughly $51.4 million, and then include 8% annual raises for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 season. The total figure would be a little bit over $164 million.”
James also would be eligible for a 5% raise on his current salary if he left the Lakers and signed with a new team. According to Quinn, the total figure would come in at roughly $157 million.
In a third scenario, he could sign for less than the max, but James hasn’t done that since 2014-15, when he rejoined the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James ‘Needs to Ponder His Next Move’
The Lakers have fallen short of their goal of winning their first championship since 2019-20. With three tradable first-round picks, Austin Reaves, and others, the Lakers could be in the mix to be active in the offseason trade market.
However, the loaded Western Conference doesn’t seem to be getting any easier, and no move guarantees a championship.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer wrote that “LeBron at least needs to ponder his next move.”
“Championships aren’t coming anytime soon in Los Angeles, though. Not in the Lakers’ current state,” O’Connor wrote on June 11. “Not with the West as loaded as it is. This is why [head coaching candidate Dan] Hurley decided to head back to Connecticut, and why LeBron at least needs to ponder his next move.”
Returning to the Eastern Conference with the 76ers and forming a trio with Embiid and Maxey could be the best option for him to win a championship at the end of his career.