LeBron James could’ve rejected his player option this summer to take a lower-valued contract to help the Lakers build an immediately contending roster around him. But he decided to pick up his $52.6 million player option, and then his representation claimed that he wants to be on a championship-winning roster.
Experts believe that this move may have backfired on James. There were several reports that teams around the league have little to no interest in trading for a 40-year-old James entering his 23rd season in the NBA at a supermax contract value.
According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, James and his representation are more likely to now request a trade mid-season while they evaluate whether the Lakers are genuine championship contenders or not. And they supposedly will hope that the Lakers will agree on finding James a home mid-season on a team where he can fulfill his wishes. Mannix appeared on the Rich Eisen Show and gave his two cents on James’ trade saga.
“Well, my first reaction was that it struck me that LeBron wants to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to collect the $53 million, which he’s entitled to, which by the way, he’s worth three times that to the NBA and Lakers organization, and he wants the Lakers to do right by him if he decides he wants to play somewhere else.”
“Look, LeBron could have opted out and made $15 million per year anywhere. Could have made more in some situations. Like a lot of teams don’t have the financial flexibility of like a Brooklyn or a Detroit at one point. Some teams might have only been able to offer that kind of high exception that’s available. So, he could have done that. But he wants to get paid, and he wants to collect the full amount of his contract.”
“So, I read that as him saying, as his team saying, ‘All right, yeah, we’re going to opt in. We’re a Laker right now, but in the weeks and months ahead, if this team doesn’t look like it’s going to compete for a championship, we are certainly hoping that Jeannie Buss and Rob Pelinka are collaborative with us and try to find a destination that LeBron would want to be at.’”
LeBron James’ Trade Saga: Potential Landing Spots And More
As one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball, James would be a valuable asset for any team he wants to play on. While some teams have their hands tied due to financial constraints, some teams are just not in the position to take on a $52.6 million contract and give James the competitive roster he expects to be on.
The Cavaliers, the team that drafted James into the NBA, are reportedly not interested in bringing him back as they would have to lose a major portion of their core to afford James. The Mavericks, which were reportedly the team James wanted to join earlier, are only interested in James if he is bought out by the Lakers.
Another former team that could bring James back is the Heat, but the Lakers are currently rumored to be negotiating a trade package for Andrew Wiggins, who could’ve been a part of the package that sent James to the Heat, but the Heat seems unwilling to invest in James at the moment.
This is the first time in James’ career that he is reportedly viewed as a trade piece by the front office of his team. James also reportedly does not like playing with Doncic. Considering that he acknowledges the Lakers are now Doncic’s team, could this finally mean that James is getting traded? If he requests a trade, where will he end up? So many important questions revolve around James’ future that the Lakers need to answer in the upcoming season.
