Leading up to free agency, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James offered a generous gesture to the organization, being willing to take a pay cut on his next deal to help the organization land an impact free agent.
James reportedly gave the Lakers a list that included players he would be willing to take less for and it included James Harden, Jonas Valanciunas and Klay Thompson.
Of that bunch, Thompson was the most realistic option and also made the most sense for the roster, so the Lakers went on an all-out recruitment of the former Golden State Warriors star at the start of free agency. That included a call from James himself trying to convince Thompson to come home to L.A.
However, the Lakers were ultimately not able to close the deal as Thompson instead chose to sign a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
With the Lakers not being able to land any of LeBron’s primary targets and the free agency market drying up, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that James may end up taking a full max contract:
With the Los Angeles Lakers striking out on three of the top free agents this offseason, LeBron James could now take the full max from the franchise during free agency, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
James’ agent Rich Paul said this would be the case all along as his client was not gonna take a pay cut of around $17 million annually for just anybody.
With James set to report to Las Vegas for Team USA training camp this week, he should have his contract situation figured out before taking the court. If he does indeed take the full max then the Lakers’ only avenue to improve the roster would be through trades.
They have a full roster but do have some tradable contracts as well as first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 that they can move if they want.
LeBron James could still take a pay cut for Lakers to sign DeMar DeRozan
There may be one free agent left that LeBron James would be willing to take a pay cut for the Lakers to sign and that is DeMar DeRozan.
The Lakers have been linked to DeRozan for years and with reports indicating he will leave the Chicago Bulls in free agency, now could be the time to make it happen. Even if he isn’t a perfect fit alongside James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers are running out of options at this point.
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