Is the door open for the Lakers to be players in free agency?

LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent after declining the player option on his contract. He can re-sign with the Lakers for up to three years and approximately $162 million. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The Lakers will enter Sunday’s free-agency period as one of the more interesting teams despite having a roster near capacity and, currently, limited means for improvement.

The greatest intrigue came Saturday when LeBron James, as expected, opted out of his contract with the Lakers to become an unrestricted free agent. According to people with knowledge of the decision not authorized to speak publicly, James plans to re-sign with the Lakers.

The only question is for how much?

According to reports, James would consider taking less money should the Lakers be able to lure a high-impact free agent with the full midlevel exception — a plan that could cost James more than $16 million next season.

While that steep of a pay cut is viewed as unlikely, the Lakers could shed salary elsewhere to close that gap to a more palatable level. The problems, though, are multiple.

One, can the Lakers acquire an important enough addition with the midlevel exception, which begins at $13 million per season? Two, can they offload salary with their limited draft capital? And three, will James ultimately agree that the impact from the additional free agent would be worth the significant salary sacrifice?

One of those players the Lakers could target is Klay Thompson, who has interest in playing for the franchise with which his father won multiple championships and currently broadcasts games.

Dallas and Thompson are known to have mutual interest, people familiar with the situation confirmed to The Times.

Read more: D’Angelo Russell will exercise his player option and remain with Lakers

James, who turns 40 in December, earned a place on the All-NBA third team last season after playing 71 games — the most since joining the Lakers in 2018.

The Lakers, to date, have been willing to sign James to whatever type of contract he desires, which could be worth up to $162 million over three years.

The team learned Friday night guard D’Angelo…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lebron-james-opts-contract-eye-164616850.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-06-29 16:46:16

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