[Shams/Woj] LeBron James to sign a 2-year, $104 million max deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Deal includes NTC.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/rankings/earnings-career/_/year/2025
This puts LBJ at close to $600m career earnings. Obviously, it would be higher if you account for inflation but it is crazy how some of these young guys will blow by him in the next ten years in real dollars.

Tatums 5 year/$314m extension by itself would be 9th all time in career earnings:
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/rankings/earnings-career/_/year/2023

[Godymas]

He is making All-NBA teams… What am I missing?

oh sorry you can read the future when he makes an All NBA team on that contract?

please think before you hit that submit button

The last time LeBron didn't make an All-NBA team was in 2003.

what was that other nonsense stat about the last time LeBron didn't make it out the first round?

It happened twice very recently

[Godymas]

He is making All-NBA teams… What am I missing?

oh sorry you can read the future when he makes an All NBA team on that contract?

please think before you hit that submit button

lol wtf. So you respect him less because you believe he won’t make an All-NBA team? Despite the fact that he was a clear All-NBA player this year and indeed has made All-NBA 19 straight times?

Your logic boils down to “I don’t respect him because I don’t respect him”, trying to use your own predictions as “evidence”. What am I missing here?

yes my logic flawed when I expect the 40 year old NBA player who has already shown signs of decline to continue to decline

[MarcusBrody]

Never thought I'd see the day Lebron becomes a bad contract, but here we are.

How is this a bad contract? Injury risk? LeBron was a fringe top 10 player last year and his commercial value is off the charts. I imagine that he will continue to decline, but he projects to still be a very good player this season. It's not as of there is anyone out there that would move the needle that thr Lakers didn't sign to choose LeBron.

[JustBuzzin]

not serious about winning, but at least he got his boy paid

Man y'all gotta chill and let LeBron live in peace.

He has nothing left to accomplish. He's 40!

That man don't even supposed to be in the league let alone still a top 10 player. Y'all already discredit his last championship. Either way he won't win.

Just enjoy these last few years of the GOAT. LeBron will retire while still being a top 10 player. That's an accomplishment in itself. The King went out on top.

[SkyBill40]

I don't know why this is even a thing. There was really never a doubt about him re-signing in LA and especially not after the Lakers took his kid in the draft. And why bother with a NTC? They're not moving him nor would it likely even be a consideration.

[___Rand___]

Don't like this at all.


Just a 1 year deal + 1 year player option?


I wanted him on a 4 year max contract.

He's gonna opt out next year for a bigger pay check. He doesn't care about championships. Just the pretense that he does.

[UglyBugBall]

Never thought I'd see the day Lebron becomes a bad contract, but here we are.

How is this a bad contract? Injury risk? LeBron was a fringe top 10 player last year and his commercial value is off the charts. I imagine that he will continue to decline, but he projects to still be a very good player this season. It's not as of there is anyone out there that would move the needle that thr Lakers didn't sign to choose LeBron.

A NTC implies a top 3 kind of player. Fringe top 10 guys don't get NTCs. He's a good player, but if he's taking the max you can't compete for a championship. Even with AD they couldnt.

[___Rand___]

This wouldn't be the smartest move from Lebron. He should just take as much money as he can possibly make and call it a day. He shouldn't help them on preventing them from being a 2nd tax apron team. It's clear that they're next trade they will do will involve AD. Nobody wants the garbage that the Lakers have.

Read on Twitter

Yo! this is the bigger issue! How is a play-in team over the second apron? Who's gonna get cut?

[jigga_man]

Those options are now off the table. With James in the fold for the max, the Lakers are now over the first apron, and will be over the second apron once they sign Bronny James to a standard NBA contract.

[CS707]

I'm confused on why folks are blaming him for not turning down a max contract? Or is this just common Bron Realgm hate?

People are really all over the place this year, and not with LeBron. Teams or players make a move and they're dumb because it's not a guaranteed championship level move, they do nothing and they're dumb for not going all in. LeBron said he'd take a pay cut to facilitate adding a player he thought would help, presumably Klay, and when it didn't happen he just went ahead and took the money like anyone else would. It makes sense and is perfectly reasonable. There aren't a lot of realistic moves the Lakers could have made so why would he leave money on the table just for them to blow on some bottom of the roster fodder?

[Ssj16]

Shams won this battle by 1 minute.

[infinite11285]

oh sorry you can read the future when he makes an All NBA team on that contract?

please think before you hit that submit button

The last time LeBron didn't make an All-NBA team was in 2003.

what was that other nonsense stat about the last time LeBron didn't make it out the first round?

It happened twice very recently

In your original argument, you implied LeBron didn't deserve the deal because he wasn't making All-NBA Teams, which was false.

Is your new stance that he should have rejected the offer altogether because the Lakers didn't advance past the first round last year or in 2021? Does the title in 2020 or WCF-berth in 2023 not matter?

[infinite11285]

Those options are now off the table. With James in the fold for the max, the Lakers are now over the first apron, and will be over the second apron once they sign Bronny James to a standard NBA contract.

Welp.

Read on Twitter

[EmpireFalls]

oh sorry you can read the future when he makes an All NBA team on that contract?

please think before you hit that submit button

lol wtf. So you respect him less because you believe he won’t make an All-NBA team? Despite the fact that he was a clear All-NBA player this year and indeed has made All-NBA 19 straight times?

Your logic boils down to “I don’t respect him because I don’t respect him”, trying to use your own predictions as “evidence”. What am I missing here?

yes my logic flawed when I expect the 40 year old NBA player who has already shown signs of decline to continue to decline

Thank you for proving my point.

[Godymas]

The last time LeBron didn't make an All-NBA team was in 2003.

what was that other nonsense stat about the last time LeBron didn't make it out the first round?

It happened twice very recently

In your original argument, you implied LeBron didn't deserve the deal because he wasn't making All-NBA Teams, which was false.

Is your new stance that he should have rejected the offer altogether because the Lakers didn't advance past the first round last year or in 2021? Does the title in 2020 or WCF-berth in 2023 not matter?

that is not my original statement. Let me quote it for you, so you can read it again

deals like this make me respect LeBron less

if he isn't making All NBA teams on that contract he's making his team worse.

So you’re welcome to quote me in a year if LeBron makes an All NBA team on that contract

[The4thHorseman]

oh sorry you can read the future when he makes an All NBA team on that contract?

please think before you hit that submit button

The last time LeBron didn't make an All-NBA team was in 2003.

what was that other nonsense stat about the last time LeBron didn't make it out the first round?

It happened twice very recently

You don't have to get past the 1st round in order to qualify to make an All-NBA team

[facothomas22]

This wouldn't be the smartest move from Lebron. He should just take as much money as he can possibly make and call it a day. He shouldn't help them on preventing them from being a 2nd tax apron team. It's clear that they're next trade they will do will involve AD. Nobody wants the garbage that the Lakers have.

Read on Twitter

Yo! this is the bigger issue! How is a play-in team over the second apron? Who's gonna get cut?

Those contracts would still be on the books regardless if they were to waived or not. They would have to attach draft capital to get rid of these contracts. But refusing to do that would mean having being a 2nd tax apron team that has a absolute ceiling of being a play -in team, which is quite problematic in itself considering that other 2nd tax apron teams have atleast a chance of making a deep playoff run and the penalties that come with it are severe. Safe to say that the Lakers Front office have really screwed that team up for both the short and long term.

[Shock Defeat]

Lebron destroyed the lakers the last few years. Team is being ran by Lebron and friends as owners. The laughing stock of the league

What's funny is that all the Lakers got from him in exchange for giving up complete control of the franchise to him was a bubble championship that no one even takes seriously or respects

[Effigy]

Only a 2 year deal? That's a surprise. I thought it would be 3. Do we think he retires at the end of this deal?