Few fans know that after the Lakers' loss in the 2023 playoffs, 39-year-old LeBron James once considered retirement. But he chose to continue to play in the NBA for the sake of father and son on the same stage, and also for the completion of his "411" project. From landing in the league in 2003 to still playing in 2024, James' existence is not just the youth of a generation.
Maybe there will be the next LeBron James, but our youth won't come back. Back to Lao Zhan, there are currently 2 games left in the regular season, and it is these 2 games that will determine the fate of the Lakers this season. One game against the Grizzlies, most of the players in the team lost, as long as they didn't mess up collectively, this one was won steadily. Secondly, in the Pelicans game, Ingram announced his comeback. This may be an opportunity, and if the thick eyebrows can return, it should not be a big problem.
But if the Lakers can't even play in the playoffs this season, maybe Lao Zhan will accelerate his retirement time. After all, 21 years is long enough. Lao Zhan is always going to return to life, and his next stop may be to become an NBA owner, like Michael Jordan, to continue to promote the development of the NBA.
James has a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season, and according to league rules, he can sign up to a three-year maximum salary with the Lakers worth $163.7 million. But many people predict that Lao Zhan will not play for so long, and continuing to sign 1+1 with the Lakers is the only way to sign it.
About Wei Shao
Recently, the media exposed the inside story of the Lakers, and Lao Zhan constantly put pressure on the management. James' role with the Lakers is not limited to one player, he even has more power than the general manager. In the 2021-22 season, when the Lakers failed to defend their title the following year, the elder put pressure on management to find the team's third All-Star. As a result, the Lakers and the Wizards made a deal, and Russell Westbrook joined as scheduled.
But the arrival of Wei Shao did not alleviate the Lakers' illness. On the contrary, most of the cooperation between the two sides is not pleasant, and some people even say that Wei Shao has ruined the Lakers. After some time, James made a statement to management that he wanted to trade Wei Shao. In other words, the Lakers went from getting Wei Shao to trading Wei Shao. James played a huge role in it, and it can even be said that Wei Shao's stay is exactly what James meant.
About Brownie
Some time ago, James' eldest son, Bronny, announced his candidacy for the 2024 draft. But if you look at Bronny's data, the average number of pending orders per game, it's enough to play in the development league, let alone enter the NBA. But fortunately, 2024 is a small year for the draft, and there are not many outstanding players.
Lakers management has also previously stated that it is exploring trade prospects regarding Bronny. Possibly, a second-round pick will be traded to sign Bronny James. The premise is that James continues to stay with the Lakers. Honestly, a second-round pick isn't worth much. But the traffic brought by James father and son competing on the same stage is much higher than this second-round pick.
Many teams know that James' son, Bronny, is not qualified to play in the NBA. But in the business league, interests come first, and the topic of James's son is much higher than that of ordinary second-round players. The times are advancing, and Xiao Hua is also willing to make it convenient, everyone knows that Bronny has to go through the back door, but he is also willing to pay for James.