Fox 1’s Rachel Nichols presented an interesting notion of having Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James opt out of his contract this offseason and return to the team on the league minimum to aid the team’s pursuit of another star. While speaking with Colin Cowherd on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd“, the two discussed the star’s situation.
“How about this suggestion? Take a little less,” said Cowherd.
Nichols immediately responded by saying, “I think he should take a minimum… LeBron has felt for a long time that he is, at large, big picture, underpaid. That is why, ever since his first contract in Miami, he has wanted the maximum amount of money. And he is absolutely right.”
“There is no amount of money that the NBA, at large, or any team he plays for, could pay him to compensate for what he has brought to the NBA,” she continued. “So he is always going to be ‘underpaid’.”
However, Nichols followed this point up by addressing James’ immense net worth and how taking a pay cut would have virtually no impact on his overall wealth and how it trickles down to his future generations.
“If I were LeBron, the thing you cannot buy with whatever amount of money you get in that contract is championship rings,” said Nichols. She continued by pointing out how taking the minimum would effectively open up cap space to sign a third superstar. This effectively opens up avenues to not only win one more ring, but potentially multiple, should James opt to stay on.
Nichols took to X after the panel discussion with Cowherd to emphasize what James’ value was to the NBA. She tweeted, “LeBron will never be paid enough to compensate for what he’s done for the NBA, so I get wanting to *at least* get max deals. But Tom Brady took pay cuts to stack his teams, and it paid off in rings. Worth considering now that Luka changes the math on LA’s future title chances.”
The current scenario poses to be rather enigmatic. James provided a rather cryptic response regarding his future in the NBA. While there is a growing belief within the NBA fraternity that the Lakers’ star will return next season, there is no real evidence of the same.
This lack of information on his availability could prove to be a problem for Los Angeles heading into the offseason. The Lakers, since crashing out of the playoffs, have made several announcements and statements about their plans to develop and strengthen their roster.
While their primary focus has been on acquiring an athletic, rim-protecting big man, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka also expressed his plans to fortify the team’s perimeter defense with wing depth.
The Lakers are in a position to be one of the most active teams in the offseason. With promises of developing into a championship-contender next season, it will be interesting to see what their front office can deliver.
