LeBron James Will ‘Consider’ Taking Less Than The Max With The Lakers After Declining His Player Option

The Los Angeles Lakers have spent this summer doing what they can to make sure LeBron James and Anthony Davis are happy. They fired Darvin Ham, who didn’t exactly get strong votes of confidence from his stars, and hired JJ Redick, who rather famously hosted a podcast with James in the second half of the season.

In the Draft, after landing Dalton Knecht in the first round, they used the 55th pick to take Bronny James and give LeBron the chance to fulfill his dream of playing in NBA games with his son. Saturday was the deadline for players and teams to pick up or decline contract options, and as most expected, LeBron declined his $51.4 million option to enter free agency officially — with the expectation that he will re-sign in Los Angeles.

There have been rumblings that James could get as much as a 3-year deal from the Lakers, as the soon-to-be-40-year-old could play for a few more years. The question is how much of the Lakers money will end up tied up in the oldest player in the NBA, and according to Chris Haynes, James will be “considering” taking less than the max to free up the full mid-level exception for the Lakers to add more talent to the roster.

James would likely need to see a full plan from Rob Pelinka and the front office for how they’ll use that money. He also could use this as a further bargaining chip to pressure the Lakers into being more aggressive on the trade market in using their future picks to acquire immediate talent. If he were willing to take less and open up the mid-level to add a quality rotation piece, and the Lakers could add an upgrade on the trade market, that would certainly make them a more formidable contender in the West. We’ll see if Pelinka and the Lakers brass can present a plan that encourages James enough in their vision to take a lesser deal (but perhaps with that third year) to see if L.A. could bolster their roster.