Getty LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is not done writing records after reaching the 40,000-point milestone. And the scuttlebutt is he will likely continue doing it in the purple and gold jersey.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Bobby Marks, James is likely to sign with another team this summer.
James has made more than $482 million in salary in his career and will become the first player in NBA history to pass the $500 million mark next season, by either opting in to his $51.4 million salary, signing a new contract with the Lakers or, in a less likely scenario, signing with another team.
The Lakers have the upper hand.
They can offer the most money — $164 million over three years in opt-in and extend vs. $157.5 million over three years in decline and sign with another team — plus a no-trade clause, which no other team can give.
To top it off, the Lakers will have three first-round picks and five pick swaps to use to get a third star next to him and Anthony Davis.
During the NBA All-Star Weekend, James, 39, re-affirmed his commitment to the Lakers organization but also left the door open for another potential move.
“I am a Laker and I’m happy, and been very happy being a Laker the last six years,” James told reporters. “Hopefully, it stays that way. But I don’t have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I’ll be in. Hopefully, it is with the Lakers. It’s a great organization and so many greats. But we’ll see. I don’t know how it’s going to end, but it’s coming it’s coming for sure.”
LeBron James Predicted to Seek Knicks Trade
Bleacher Report’s salary cap guru Eric Pincus reported on February 27 that there are people around the league who believe James will steer Bronny to a team where they would be playing together.
“Would a team draft Bronny to lure his father? Perhaps, but how many times in James’ career has he been reactionary?
To the best of his ability, James will probably direct where his son lands. Perhaps that’s with the Lakers, though some around the league speculate it’ll be with the New York Knicks. If so, James would probably opt-in and orchestrate a trade from the Lakers (perhaps with Julius Randle, other salaries and picks to Los Angeles),” Pincus wrote.
James fanned speculations about a potential move to the Knicks in the future in the days leading up to the February 8 trade deadline from cryptic X posts to flexing the Knicks towel in a postgame interview after a Lakers win in New York.
He even told New York reporters that playing for the Knicks once crossed his mind.
“During my free agency period in 2010, it was one of the teams that I looked at,” James told reporters on February 3. “So I’ve had that thought in my career.”
Knicks Loom as More Serious Threat Than Warriors
According to McMenamin and Marks, the Knicks have the flexibility that the Golden State Warriors, who pursued James at the trade deadline, do not have.
James could opt-in to his contract and then work out a trade, but Golden State would not be allowed to send out aggregate contracts if James’ $51.4 million salary pushed the Warriors over the second apron.
The Knicks, however, have the financial flexibility below both aprons to trade for James without losing Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby.
New York has five players (Julius Randle, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic and Donte DiVincenzo) earning a salary between $11.5 and $30.3 million. They also have up to eight tradable first-rounders to include in a deal.
Randle is 10 years younger than James and will perfectly fit with Davis’ timeline. The picks they could acquire from the Knicks coupled with their 3 tradable first-round picks in the offseason would catapult the Lakers as a frontrunner to land any young star who might become available to form a new and much younger Big 3.
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Lakers Star LeBron James ‘Less Likely’ to Sign With Another Team: Report