The Athletic reported that James jumped out of the 51.42 million player option in the final year and was ready to take a salary cut for the Lakers. Originally, if James had renewed his contract as normal, he could have signed a three-year, $162 million contract with the Lakers. But Lao Zhan gave up this choice because he wanted to sacrifice a handful of money for the Lakers to compete for the championship. Lakers reporter Dave McMenamin also praised Lao Zhan.
Dave McMenamin bluntly said that James is willing to take a 16 million salary cut in order for the Lakers to sign players like Harden, Thompson and Valanciunas in the full middle class. Among them, Varan and Thompson are not a big problem, they do have a limited market. But Harden, a mid-class Lakers, is hard to win. The only way for the Lakers is to convince Harden to sign a contract, and the current contract that the Clippers want to give Harden is about 100 million for 3 years.
The reason why the Clippers refuse to renew George's contract is that the two sides can't negotiate a four-year contract, and the Clippers are willing to give a three-year contract, and both Harden and George can only open a three-year contract. The Clippers want Harden and George to align with Leonard's three-year contracts in case they can rebuild in the future. So George was not satisfied and refused to exercise the player option to become a complete free man. While the Clippers would love to keep Harden, the question is George gone, and the Clippers are still attractive with their current roster?
In addition, James personally cut his salary to recruit Harden today, and may say that Harden will join the Lakers by signing first and then exchanging. The Lakers can send Van der Biao and Russell draft picks for signing, and the two have a combined annual salary of more than 30 million. That is to say, if the Lakers are willing, they can use a full mid-range to win Wallan to strengthen the No. 5 position, and get Harden by signing first and then exchanging for about 100 million for 3 years. For Harden, the Lakers are a very attractive place.
Davis is a top-level interior lineman, James is getting old and strong, and then if Wallan joins, the Lakers' No. 5 position will immediately be supported. That is, the Lakers can be formed, with Harden at point guard, Reaves at point guard, James at the small front to reduce the consumption of the inside, and the starting combination of Davis and center Wallan. Harden and James can be like the 18 Rockets in the past, James played half a quarter break, Harden finished the first quarter, Lao Zhan led the team in the second quarter, Harden rested, and the two merged again in the second half.
During the time away from the Rockets, Harden has been working his fixed-point three-point shooting. Harden and Wei Shao are definitely different, because Wei Shao does not have outside projection ability, and some shots are really unreasonable. Do you dare to believe that the opponent is going to trap James and let Harden go away? With the current strength comparison, the Lakers are also more promising than the Clippers. Leonard can't play in the playoffs in the regular season this year, can you expect George to leave and Harden to lead the regular season alone next year? The Lakers and Clippers are both Los Angeles teams, and Harden plays both hometown basketball.
Grasping the peak tail of the last few years, teaming up with James and thick eyebrows to make a final fight, I think it is more in the interest of Harden's urgent championship competition. Anyway, in the Clippers, I also take 100 million in 3 years, where can I not take it. The most important thing is that George is now in Philadelphia, and they can sign George directly. The Clippers now have only 20 million in the remaining recruitment space, and Harden will not only have to bet on Leonard's health problems, but also be more tired. Isn't it nice to enjoy the Big Three and help in general with the Lakers? Of course, the grudge between the Clippers and the Lakers is indeed difficult to send Harden to the Lakers, which is the biggest problem. Unless Harden fights for the championship, he will directly sign the middle class and bet on the Lakers for a year, and then the Lakers will trade Russell to strengthen him.