Lakers Rumors: LeBron James Takes Near $3M Pay Cut; 2-Year Contract Worth $101.3M
bleacherreport.com
The Los Angeles Lakers will remain below the second salary apron after LeBron James accepted a deal worth almost $3 million below the maximum, according to…

Puts the Lakers under the 2nd Apron

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
    111·
    9 days ago

    So he took $3 million less to make sure Bronny got drafted. I’m going to be shocked if the kid can actually ball out.

    • David_Eight@lemmy.world
      5·
      9 days ago

      He took less so the team would be under the second apron, this makes it way easier to improve the roster. I don’t see how Bronny plays into this?

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
        4·
        9 days ago

        Because he could have easily gotten a max contract on several other teams, and he made it obvious he wasn’t going to stay with the Lakers if they didn’t draft his son.

        • David_Eight@lemmy.world
          1·
          9 days ago

          I agree that the Lakers drafted Bronny for LeBron. LeBron didn’t take a pay cut because of Bronny though. LeBron, if he wanted could have gotten a full max from the Lakers. Also Bronny is making the league minimum, not some crazy great deal.

          • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
            2·
            9 days ago

            Being drafted onto LeBron James’s team without being that good is a great deal. He has a congenital heart defect and 10 teams wanted him to work out for them. Do the math.

          • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
            2·
            9 days ago

            I believe you on all points, except that I’m certain he could have gotten a max contract from another team if he wanted to leave. He chose to stay with the Lakers, not for the money, but to play with his son. If the Lakers had not drafted Bronny, and another team signed him, and they also offered him a two year max contract, I bet LeBron would have taken it.

            But it would have been much harder for him to negotiate that sort of deal without creating problems related to tampering. He couldn’t shop around the league to find a max contract AND a team that would draft his son, but it was definitely known what his price would be. He told the Lakers to go get his son, and he would sign a team-friendly extension. I mean, it’s not that much of a discount, and it puts the team in a better position financially. So there were a lot of reasons he took that contract. I just mean that there’s no way he takes a pay cut if the Lakers had said “no” to Bronny.