LeBron James has now officially signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, and his taking a massive pay cut hasn’t gone down too well in some corners of Los Angeles. Radio host Doug McKain went off on James on 97.1 The Fan LA’s D-Mac & Reiter show.
“The thing about LeBron is, he’s not loyal, he didn’t care about Los Angeles, he didn’t care about the Lakers,” McKain said. “And two, he didn’t care about his legacy with the Lakers. If LeBron had given the Lakers this level of discount, and they were able to put these pieces around Luka [Doncic], [Austin] Reaves, and LeBron, LeBron would be absolutely celebrated. He would have gotten a statue in LA.
“Instead, I think that LeBron should get boos when he comes back to Crypto.com Arena,” McKain said. “But, 100% the Lakers would have wanted LeBron back at $4 million per year. Dude’s playing for nothing.”
James signed a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option for the second year with the 76ers. It might not be an exaggeration to say that’s the best value contract in the NBA.
James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2025-26. Despite being 41 years old, he is still operating at a high level and undoubtedly elevates the 76ers.
Now, James, who made $52.6 million last season, was going to take a massive pay cut wherever he went this offseason. It was made clear that money would not be a factor in the decision-making process. Happiness and a chance to win a title were. James eventually decided the 76ers were the best landing spot for him. They are now among the title favorites.
As for why James didn’t take this kind of a discount and stay in Los Angeles, it turns out he might have been willing to take less at one point. NBA insider Ramona Shelburne had explained what went down behind the scenes between him and the Lakers.
“After the season, sources close to James said the most important factor in him re-signing would be how the Lakers approached him,” Shelburne wrote. “He might have been willing to take a pay cut from the $52.6 million he’d made the season before, sources said, if the Lakers explained how they planned to reallocate the money.
“They never did, and James never made himself available to meet,” Shelburne added. “He had been a priority enough times in his career to know when he wasn’t one.”
Shelburne later added that there would be an issue even if the Lakers offered $10 million to $15 million more than other teams. Why? Well, those other teams were giving James as much as they could. They didn’t have his Bird rights to go higher.
The Lakers did, and they were going to have to tell James they were offering him significantly less than they could. They wondered how to present it without it coming across as disrespectful, and he left before they could.
All of this sure is fascinating.
Now, it should be pointed out that James was willing to take a significant pay cut for the Lakers in the past. He was only going to do it if they were able to land an impact player. The Lakers weren’t able to, so James didn’t give them a huge hometown discount. That sounds fair.
As for Lakers fans being called upon to boo James when he plays at Crypto.com Arena next season, it’s a bit much. This is a man who spent eight seasons with the franchise and won a championship in 2020. You might argue he doesn’t deserve a statue and whatnot, but there shouldn’t be any boos.
Former Laker Mychal Thompson has also said fans upset by James’ decision are hypocrites. Thompson, who is the team’s radio color commentator, pointed out that we have all chased better opportunities in our professional lives and that the same was done here. He does not want to see any boos when James returns next season.
