In order for the Lakers to have a full mid-range exception, LeBron James will need to take a salary cut of about $16 million next season. Even though LeBron has made enough money, it's still a lot of money for a 39-year-old to give up that much money during the season.
This is a report from NBA reporter Chris Haynes, who believes that James' salary cut is an implementable plan, but the premise is that this asset must be used to bring in a star who can really bring about the team's strength, or a star-level star, rather than using this asset to sign a few players in the market at will, in other words, you can't sign mediocre players, if there is such a really strong player who is willing to accept the full middle class, then James will be very willing to take a salary cut to help the team, after all, Now Bronny has also joined the Lakers.
And there are very few players on the market who meet James's requirements, and they have to accept full mid-range and star value, and there are currently Klay, Paul George, Chris Paul, and Harden, who has not yet been signed by the Clippers, on the free market. It was previously reported that Klay is looking forward to being able to play with James, so it seems that James himself is also a special bargaining chip for the free agent to join.
Next season is the last year of LeBron's contract with the Lakers, and this time he chose to jump out of the contract and choose to work with the Lakers again, and the next contract is expected to reach 3 years and 162 million, about which his agent Rich Paul said: "James is prioritizing roster improvements, and he has been firmly committed to doing everything he can to improve the roster. So James hopes to use his salary cut to attract influential players.
James was previously a free agent in 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, and this is his sixth free agent.
In 2006, the Cavaliers signed James to a four-year, $60 million contract a year ahead of schedule. It wasn't until the summer of 2010 that the 2003 Golden Generation collectively jumped out of contract and became free agents, and that year James finally got together with Wade and Bosh in Miami.
When James' contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers expired in 2018, he once again became a full free agent, and then chose to join the Lakers, helping them win their 17th franchise in franchise history, his fourth championship trophy, and four FMVPs in 2020.
Now, at 39 years old, James will be the longest-serving player in the NBA if the contract is signed, having previously set a new NBA scoring list to 40,000 points, and he will continue to make history, a history that no one has ever made before.