On February 21, Beijing time, according to Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, multiple sources revealed that Klutch (James's agency) was dissatisfied with Pelinka because Pelinka refused to use Westbrook and a future first-round pick (most likely 2027) to return to Rockets guard John Wall, and Wall is also a signed customer of Klutch.
Last summer, people familiar with the matter revealed that James and Westbrook met and agreed to work together in Los Angeles, and Pelinka had almost gotten Hield from the Kings, but turned the trade target to Westbrook at the last minute. Now, Klutch wants Pelinka to trade wall for Wale to fix Westbrook's mistakes and save their customers, but Pelinka chooses to say no, and the relationship between the two sides is clearly on the verge of breaking down.
Yesterday, James revealed several important pieces of information in an interview, one of which was that he admitted that the door to his third time playing for the Cavaliers was not closed; second, he said that he was going to play with his eldest son Brownie in the last year of his career, and where Brownie was, he went; third, he also praised Thunder general manager Presti as the team's MVP.
Eric Pincus pointed out that this information means that James and the Lakers' "marriage" is already in jeopardy. Klutch's relationship with the Lakers, led by James agent Rich Paul, has also fallen to a minimum. Don't forget that Davis' agency is also Klutch, he can jump out of the contract as early as 2024, if the relationship between the Lakers and Klutch can't be repaired, they can also consider sending James and Thick Brow through the deal, but this has more problems to involve.
All indications are that if the Lakers still want James to play until retirement, they have to act quickly. An important point in time is August 5 this year (Beijing time), James will be eligible to renew his contract for two years in advance, and the total salary will be $97.1 million. If he doesn't renew his contract, James will become a free agent in 2023, and in early predictions, the Cavaliers are expected to have $36.4 million in salary space, about $10 million less than the Lakers can pay, but such a small difference can be completely erased with one or two transactions.
Considering that Brownie is expected to enter the NBA before the 2024-25 season, James should be more willing to sign a one-year contract with the Lakers or Cavaliers, and then become a free agent in his son's rookie season, deciding which team to sign with himself.
Pincus revealed that after communicating with several executives, he believes that Brownie's current draft prospects are expected to be second-round shows, but it is still far from 2024, there are many uncertainties, and a team can choose Brownie in advance for James.
If the Lakers want to stay with James for a long time, picking out Brownies in the draft is also a plan. However, unless the Pelicans are willing to postpone the Lakers' first-round signing obligation until 2025, the Lakers will not have a 2024 first-round signing. Their second-round pick that same year also belonged to the Grizzlies, but they got a second-round pick from the Wizards in their previous trade.