On June 30, Beijing time, James decided to refuse to exercise the $51.4 million player option and planned to renew his contract with the Lakers after becoming a free agent. Subsequently, ESPN reported that James is willing to take a pay cut to stay with the Lakers, but only if the Lakers can bring in influential players, and the names of Harden, Klay and Valanciunas are mentioned. In addition, ESPN also said that if the Lakers fail to recruit him, James will not take a salary cut and continue to ask for a maximum salary.
Speaking about James' option to jump out of his contract, agent Rich Paul said: "He prioritizes improving the roster, and he's always insisted on doing everything he can to improve the roster. James is eligible to sign a three-year, $162 million contract with the Lakers, but Paul said James is willing to work with the Lakers to sign a contract below the maximum salary to help the Lakers release a full mid-range exception ($12.9 million) to sign an "influential player."
Sources told ESPN that the types of players James is willing to make financial sacrifices for are experienced veterans like Harden or Klay, or mature big men who can play alongside Anthony Davis — like Valanciunas. Paul told ESPN that if the Lakers can't attract such a player with the mid-range, James will continue to seek a max contract extension.
However, James could only have had so much patience when it came time to agree his next contract with the Lakers. The U.S. team's training camp for the Paris Olympics will begin in Las Vegas a week later. Paul told ESPN that he would complete a James trade with the Lakers before the start of training camp for Team USA.
Smith, an expert familiar with salaries, analyzed James's salary cut -
The Lakers' current guaranteed salary, plus Knecht's salary, if they want to fill the 15-man roster, has a full midrange of $12.9 million, a base salary of $2.1 million, and of course, Bronny, who has not yet been officially signed (expected to take a rookie base salary of $1.1 million).
The salary space left for James is about $33.5 million. James' first-year salary if he signs with a maximum salary of $49.9 million, which means that James will need to drop his annual salary by about $16 million if he wants the Lakers to have a full mid-range.
James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds in 71 games last season — the most he played in six seasons on the team. He shot a career-high 54 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range, was named to the All-Star team three times, and became the first player in league history to score more than 40,000 points.
Davis, who played five of the six seasons with James in Los Angeles, said he deliberately didn't put pressure on James in the offseason. The pair will also partner up at the Paris Olympics this summer.
"I just respect his space," Davis told ESPN this week. "I know we're going to be together all summer, and I know if he decides to do something — whether it's staying with the Lakers, or choosing to execute his contract or quit and re-sign or choose to join another team, I know he's going to let me know before he makes any (official) decision because we have that relationship. So I'm pretty sure I'll know before anyone else, except for his family and Richie (Paul). ”