LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent, although his time on the open market is not expected to be particularly stressful for the Los Angeles Lakers. James declined his $51.4 million player option with the Lakers for the 2024-25 season on Saturday, and all the reporting around his decision indicates that he will sit down with the team and hammer out a new deal going forward.
However, this one has the potential to be unique for James, as his agent, Rich Paul, told Dave McMenamin of ESPN that the future Hall of Fame inductee is willing to leave money on the table if it helps the Lakers bring in what he described as an “impact player.” And according to McMenamin, James has some players in mind here.
Via ESPN:
The type of player that James would be willing to make a financial sacrifice for would be an established veteran playmaker like James Harden or Klay Thompson, or an established big man to play alongside Anthony Davis — like Jonas Valanciunas, sources told ESPN.
If James were to take a large enough paycut that the Lakers could offer the full mid-level exception, that would mean the team has $12.9 million to play with. Whether that would be enough for Harden, Thompson, or Valanciunas remains to be seen, but Thompson, in particular, is starting to see his name linked strongly to the Lakers, with Marc Stein reporting that James is hopeful Los Angeles could bring him on board.
As we’ve been reporting for 24-plus hours: Klay Thompson’s departure from the Golden State Warriors looks increasingly imminent … with LeBron James hopeful, per league sources today, that the Lakers can mount a bid to challenge Dallas.
Friday’s story: https://t.co/DWazVDdDH0 https://t.co/EMl6EssNh0
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 29, 2024
Earlier in the day on Saturday, a report came out via Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic which indicated that the Golden State Warriors are preparing for Thompson to leave in unrestricted free agency.