Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has not taken a significant pay cut in over a decade, but he might have no choice but to do so this summer. During a discussion on NBA Today about how much longer James might play and his future with the Lakers, insider Ramona Shelburne stated she doesn’t see any team offering him a contract worth $50 million a year.
“The sense I have is that this idea of playing for $50 million anywhere is probably gone,” Shelburne said. “But if he’s willing to play for less, if that fits with what they’re trying to do, I think that door is open [to return to the Lakers].”
James is currently in the second year of the two-year, $101.35 million deal he signed with the Lakers in 2024. He had taken about $2.7 million less than the max then, which was $104 million. James will probably have to take a much bigger pay cut this time around. The 41-year-old is still undoubtedly a very good player, but just not worth that kind of money.
James is averaging 21.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Lakers in 2025-26. Those are All-Star-level numbers, but he’s no longer one of the 10 best players in the NBA. Factor his age into the equation, and a deal worth about $30 million sounds about fair.
The question now is, will James be okay with it? Well, he’ll have to be if he wants to keep playing. The last time James took a significant pay cut was when he joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat in 2010. They all took about $15 million less over the life of their contracts back then.
Following his tenure with the Heat, James indicated he was only going to sign max contracts. He had never been the highest-paid player in his 11-year NBA career at that point, which sounds absurd.
James deserved all the money that came his way in the years that followed. You could even argue he was underpaid, considering how incredibly dominant he was during his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Those days are long gone now, though, and it is one of the reasons why, for the first time in his career, James’ team was seemingly willing to let him go. It was previously reported that he and the Lakers were mutually willing to part ways.
Another factor apart from James’ play was that the Lakers were struggling earlier this season when he shared the court with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. It was all good when he wasn’t playing with them.
So, if this trio wasn’t working, logic dictated it would be the man in his 40s who would have to go, not Doncic and Reaves, who are both 27. Interestingly enough, though, they have started playing better together lately.
The Lakers have gone 11-2 in March, with James taking a backseat to Doncic and Reaves. It sure looks like offense will be just fine with this pecking order. James seems to be having a lot more fun on the court as well, and insider Marc J. Spears is now thinking a return could be on the cards.
“At the All-Star break, I would have said that, look, there’s no chance I could see LeBron wearing a Lakers uniform next season,” Spears said. “But he looks like he’s just having so much fun with these guys. They finally figured out the trio and everything. I don’t know.”
The Lakers will need James to take a pay cut, though, as they seem set to offer Reaves a huge $240 million deal. In this apron era, they cannot afford to have these two and Doncic on massive contracts. One of them has to sacrifice, and it will have to be James.
