The Los Angeles Lakers are jockeying for postseason position as the regular season winds to a close, but this summer is as big of a stage for the franchise as the NBA Play-In Tournament and playoffs will be, should they qualify for the latter.
The primary reason for that is star LeBron James and his contract situation. James can exercise a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season, during which he will turn 40 years old. However, Brian Windhorst of ESPN predicted over the weekend that James will opt out of his deal and seek an extension.
“I think LeBron’s gonna opt out no matter what,” Windhorst said on the April 8 edition of “The Hoop Collective” podcast, which he hosts. “And the reason I think he’s gonna opt out no matter what is even if he just signs back for one year, the only functional way for LeBron to get a no-trade clause is to sign a new contract. If he extends the contract he’s in or picks up that option [and] extends onto it, he can’t get a no-trade clause. And I think — for a number of different reasons — LeBron would like, ask for and probably be granted a no-trade clause.”
LeBron James Looking to Become Just Second Player in NBA With No-Trade Clause on Current Deal
GettyLos Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
That James has the leverage to negotiate a lucrative new deal at all is impressive considering his age and NBA tenure, as he finished out his 21st regular season this month.
That Windhorst, the ultimate insider and an expert on James having covered him since high school, believes James will get a no-trade clause is downright bonkers given how rare they are in the NBA and how onerous they can be for teams.
Bradley Beal of the Phoenix Suns is the sole player in the NBA with a no-trade clause in his current contract, per Bleacher Report, which the Washington Wizards granted him in July 2022.
The Lakers could try to use the rarity of such a clause as a bargaining chip in negotiations with James if they do, in fact, go back to the table with their superstar player this summer.
“There may be some debate between [James] and the Lakers about whether he should get three years, whether a third year would be a team option or a player option or not guaranteed or whatever,” Windhorst continued. “I think there could be some interesting negotiations back and forth on that.”
LeBron James Has Several Lucrative Options on New Contract, Either With Lakers or Elsewhere
GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
James is averaging 25.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds across 68 games played this season, per Basketball Reference. He also earned All-Star honors for the 20th straight year.
Given how successful he still is — not to mention the star power he brings to a franchise like the Lakers, which thrives on that — James should be able to cash in once again whenever he signs a new deal.
Bobby Marks and Dave McMenamin of ESPN laid out all of James’ contract options on April 5.
Because of the over-38 rule, no team, including the Lakers, can offer James a contract for more than three seasons if he elects to become a free agent. That restriction should not matter; of the past six contracts James has signed, five have been for three years or less.
Those short-term deals have limited the total value of James’ recent contracts, meaning a new three-year maximum deal — either for $162 million with the Lakers or for $157 million with another team — would represent the largest total contract in James’ career, eclipsing the $154 million, four-year deal he signed with the Lakers in 2018.
James could follow the path from prior years and sign an even shorter deal with the Lakers. A two-year, $104 million contract with a player option on the second season would allow James to hit free agency again next summer.
