Credits: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports On Saturday morning, LeBron James officially opted out of his $51.4 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for next season.
James will officially become a free agent and will have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever.
It’s no secret that everything surrounding the Lakers’ offseason was done to appease James. They barely tried to hide it.
When they took a big shot by landing Connecticut coach Dan Hurley, the thought process was to bring in one of the best developmental coaches in basketball to work with Bronny James.
After Lakers missed out on HurleyThey selected LeBron’s close friend, business partner and podcast co-host JJ Redick as their next head coach.
Even after that, Rich Paul assured that Bronny would end up in Los Angeles after reportedly telling opposing teams not to sign the 19-year-old. because he was going to play in Australia.
So, the stage is set for the greatest player of this generation to return to the Lakers and ride off into the sunset, right? Well, it looks like that’s the case. But he will be an unrestricted free agent, free to meet and discuss a new contract with other teams.
After recruiting his son and hiring his friend as head coach, James must return to the Lakers. But it would be so funny if he didn’t.
The Western Conference is very tough. James knows that. According to reports, James and fellow Lakers star Anthony Davis have put pressure on the organization to find a third superstar.
LeBron will be 40 in December. With four titles under his belt, he still needs two more to match Michael Jordan’s six. Accomplishing that feat with the Lakers will be very difficult. LeBron could perhaps look to the Eastern Conference for an easier path to the NBA Finals.
Let’s be real for a second. It’s almost impossible for him to leave the Lakers.
Maybe things go south in the coming weeks and he chooses to play elsewhere. As a free agent, that’s always a possibility. But according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James is willing to be flexible with this next contract to secure another star.
In fact, this could be his last NBA contract to retire in the purple and gold jersey. Los Angeles Vaguely Considered Trading James at last season’s deadline. Perhaps he’ll make an additional request this offseason: a no-trade clause.
