When James is willing to make a sacrifice pay cut, but there are preconditions for him to take a pay cut, as Dave McMenamin revealed: James is willing to make financial sacrifices in order to recruit experienced veterans like Harden or Klay, or mature big men like Valanciunas who can play alongside the thick eyebrows. In addition, the likes of Eric Gordon, Kennard and Holmes could also be targets for second place. Jovan Buha of the Athletic Athletic analyzed the Lakers' operation plan, which can be operated with Russell's expiring contract, full mid-range exceptions, plus two first-round picks and multiple first-round swap rights, etc., to strive for the possibility of signing Harden, Klay and Wallan.
However, another roster, Haynes, also explained, adding: "The full mid-range exception can't be split up, and it's used to sign multiple players for minor upgrades, and it doesn't do that, it gives an All-Star level player or a near-All-Star level player, and that player also needs to be selected for a pay cut." ”
"Only this situation will make James take a pay cut, he will not take a pay cut for mediocre players, the players who will be able to bring substantial improvement to the team, and he will still have star value or be a star in his own right. I can tell you a few names that fit the bill, Klay and Harden. ”
It is not difficult to see that at present, there are only three players who can choose James to raise his annual salary by about $16 million and sacrifice about $50 million in annual salary in three years, namely Harden, Klay and Valanciunas. Harden can bring the Lakers an offensive and passing improvement in the backcourt, Klay can bring the Lakers a continued improvement in outside three-point firepower, and Valanciunas can bring the Lakers an improvement in interior offense and defense, especially to release the inside power of the thick eyebrows.
It's just that if the Lakers want to introduce star-level players purely with a full middle-class exception, it is naturally extremely difficult. Although Harden has fallen down, he is still a player who can pursue a 40 million+ level contract, and even if he chooses to reduce his salary, he will most likely need a 30 million+ annual salary contract. As for Klay's rejection of the Warriors' 2-year, $48 million (some accounts, 2-year, $50 million) contract in the 2023 offseason, it is unrealistic for the Lakers to expect Klay to take a significant salary cut, so he might as well return to the Warriors.
On the contrary, the 32-year-old Valanciunas is the most realistic, his last contract was a three-year, $45 million contract signed in the summer of 2019, and last season's salary was $15.44 million. Valanciunas has not won the championship in his career so far, at most until the second round of the playoffs, and may be willing to take a salary cut to join Zhan Mei in order to compete for the championship.
Of course, the Lakers are not without other options, Russell has exercised his player option of $18.69 million with one year remaining, and his expiring contract is a very good trade chip. As for James, he can also jump out of his contract and take a salary cut to renew his contract, leaving a mid-level exception for the team, plus the Lakers still have two first-round picks and multiple first-round swap options to trade. In this case, the Lakers are not without hope of pursuing Harden and Klay, which can be operated through the sign-and-trade model.
Taking a step back, even if the Lakers can't recruit Harden, Klay, Valanciunas, etc., in fact, the rest of the players who also rejected the player option this summer, such as Eric Gordon, Kennard and Holmes, are actually very attractive, even if the star level is far from comparable to Harden, Klay, etc., but it can also improve the Lakers' championship strength.