With a nearly $100 million extension, LeBron James has committed to staying in Los Angeles for at least a few more years.
While the move is definitely a weight off the franchise’s shoulders, it doesn’t alleviate any of the pressure. In fact, there may be more pressure than ever to perform if you’re the Lakers.
In an appearance on ‘NBA Today,’ ESPN’s Dave McMenamin dropped some details on LeBron’s feelings towards the Lakers and how he expects these next few years to go:
“The Lakers have been hesitant to give up their future draft assets (’27 first-round pick, ’29 first-round pick) this summer, especially when they didn’t have LeBron James under contract. But now that they have that commitment, it should get them off that stance where they’re dead set against moving off those assets. And this could re-energize the phone calls that Rob Pelinka made to teams like Brooklyn or Indiana or Utah in order to get this team better in the short term, prior to training camp.
LeBron just wants to be in a situation where he can compete for the playoffs. Once he’s in the playoffs he feels like ‘I got a chance.’ More often than not, when he makes the postseason, he’s in the NBA Finals. So even if they don’t make this seismic trade between now and training camp, it won’t be like LeBron is digging his feet in and be unhappy with the team. He recognizes it could lead up all the way to the trade deadline before that type of deal could occur.”
McMenamin on LeBron signing his extension:
– Lakers were waiting for LeBron to extend to be willing to trade their picks
– Bron knows Lakers might wait until the deadline to make a big move, he's fine with that.
-LeBron still believes once he's in the playoffs, he has a shot pic.twitter.com/8f05uGYSVa
— El Jefe (@klutchfamilia) August 18, 2022
This is the reality for Bron and the Lakeshow right now. They are hoping and praying for a miracle in the Kyrie Irving sweepstakes, but LeBron isn’t going to up and leave if they don’t make it happen.
Regardless of what happens, James will be ready to go at the start of the season, and he expects the best out of everyone in what could be a redemption season for the squad.
