According to the latest reports, LeBron James, the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers, is willing to extend his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after refusing to exercise his $51 million player option. Moreover, he is willing to take a salary cut to renew his contract, which is undoubtedly a good thing for the Lakers who are scrambling. After all, it would save the team a lot of money and avoid a lot of luxury tax.
According to TNT's NBA insider Chris Haynes, LeBron James is willing to take a $16 million pay cut. However, LeBron James' salary cut is demanding, and he will not give up close to $50 million for no reason.
In order for LeBron James to sacrifice enough money for the Lakers to be a complete middle-class exception, he would have to take $16 million less next season. That's a lot of money... For a 39-year-old, giving up too much money in one season.
This is the last contract of LeBron James' career, and he qualifies for a three-year, super-cap contract of at least $160 million. With a salary cut of $16 million a year, LeBron James is estimated to sign a contract of around $3 million.
"But it would take so much for the Lakers to be a complete middle-class exception. However, if LeBron does that, it's not a gap where you'll take advantage of the situation to bring some players trying to improve the team. No, only star or fringe star players can accept this middling exception, which will reduce the player's salary. That's the price LeBron paid for accepting a pay cut......"
LeBron James' salary cut is aimed at the Lakers winning the championship. He hopes that his salary cut will help the Lakers find some great helpers to help him and Anthony Davis win the 2024-25 championship. At present, the players who are suitable for the Lakers to pursue may be Klay Thompson and James Harden.
It's really not easy for LeBron James to take a pay cut, you must know that once he accepts the salary cut, the annual salary of the first season of his next contract will only be about $33 million. In the 2023-24 season, LeBron James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
With such a performance, the annual salary of about $33 million is really low, and even if LeBron James wants a contract with an annual salary of more than $60 million, there are many teams willing to give it. In fact, the Lakers management is really a bit of a failure, in order to save a lot of luxury tax, always thinking about signing or trading to get some players whose value does not match their performance.
The 39-year-old LeBron James, who will represent the U.S. men's basketball team in the Paris Olympics in the 2024 offseason, hopes to lead the U.S. men's basketball team to the No. 1 position in the world. His salary cut is hoping to make the Lakers make better reinforcement options. Instead of LeBron James taking a pay cut, he still picks some invaluable and inconsistent role players.