In perhaps the least surprising news of the NBA’s free agency period, LeBron James is going to stay in Los Angeles. According to reports by both Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, James and the Lakers came to terms on a 2-year max deal that will pay him $104 million.
JUST IN: LeBron James plans to sign a two-year, $104 million maximum deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/0lkqafA0As
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
Free agent LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $104 maximum million deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. Deal includes no trade clause. pic.twitter.com/kKRMg8aZPC
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2024
The deal has a no-trade clause and a player option on the final year.
James will have a player option next summer and a no-trade clause as part of his new two-year, $104M maximum deal with the Lakers, sources said. https://t.co/Fm9VEVSkr7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 3, 2024
The news of the new deal comes after a report that James was willing to take a little less money if it helped the Lakers acquire a big name in free agency. But after all three of the reported targets — James Harden, Klay Thompson, and Jonas Valanciunas — went elsewhere on the open market, which cleared a path for James to get a gigantic payday.
James has continued to play at a high level ever since he joined the Lakers in free agency back in 2018, which has included multiple All-NBA nods, an NBA Finals win in 2020, and a win in the inaugural NBA Cup this past season — James was named the MVP of both the 2020 Finals and the 2023 NBA Cup. He’s hinted that he’s heading into the final chapter of his career, and during the 2024 NBA Draft, the Lakers used a second-round pick to select his eldest son, Bronny.
While he’s taken a step back from his absolute peak, James is still among the best basketball players in the world. As a 39-year-old last year, James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in 35.3 minutes per game for the Lakers.