LeBron James opted out of his Los Angeles Lakers contract, as anticipated, however there may be little doubt that he’ll in the end re-sign with the staff. The phrases of that subsequent contract could also be dictated, nonetheless, by what the Lakers can pull off in free company.
James and his agent Wealthy Paul have made clear to the Lakers that he’s open to taking lower than the max if it means the staff can afford one other influence participant, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. By taking much less cash, James might enable the Lakers to open up the total mid-level exception of $12.9 million.
James would need the Lakers to pursue a playmaker equivalent to Klay Thompson or James Harden with the MLE. He would even be open to a longtime huge man equivalent to Jonas Valanciunas. Based on Paul, James will ask for the max if the Lakers can not add a participant like that.
The Lakers might definitely be helped by James’ flexibility. A pursuit of Thompson, as an example, seems more realistic than ever, although it stays to be seen if the MLE could be sufficient to get him to signal there. Whether it is, James’ flexibility will largely be what made it occur.