Should LeBron James choose to continue his playing career next season, his free agency will be one of the most watched this summer. James could return to the Los Angeles Lakers for a ninth season, but he will also be free to sign with any team as an unrestricted free agent.
The other big question, however, is how much James would sign for in his next contract as him signing for a maximum deal just doesn’t seem feasible at this stage of his career. Some believe James could sign with a team like the Cleveland Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors, but those teams have minimal cap space and would require James to take a massive pay cut that he is unlikely to take.
“I see people out there, not just Cleveland people, but people saying ohh LeBron can sign with the Warriors or LeBron can sign with the Heat or LeBron can sign with the Cavs,” insider Brian Windhorst said on an appearance on ESPN Cleveland. “This is not Aaron Rodgers where he can wait and they’ve got $25 million in cap space just laying around. The Cavs today can sign LeBron for $3 million. He made $54 this year. To my knowledge, LeBron is not prepared to take that type of pay cut. And you have to have that conversation, the Cavs one of the core problems is that two of their best players can’t defend. James Harden and Donovan Mitchell are guys that they attack in the playoffs, they can not defend. So if you are gonna bring in a 42-year old LeBron James that’s not gonna solve that.”
James is no longer a max player, but he also is worth far more than the minimum as well and many of the teams he has been linked to can’t offer much more than that. The Lakers are one of the few teams with significant cap space and a team like the Cavaliers would have to make some moves in order to get the money James would be willing to sign for.
There is always the possibility of a sign-and-trade should James really want to join a certain team, but the specifics of that, and what James is looking to sign for remain unclear at this point, hence why his free agency will be one of the most intriguing storylines to follow this offseason.
LeBron James reveals favorite moment with the Lakers
Throughout his eight seasons with the Lakers, James has been able to forge a ton of special moments and memories, but he recently revealed which one stands above the rest in his eyes.
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