On April 30, Beijing time, the Los Angeles Lakers' 23-24 season ended, and in the series G5, the Lakers fought until the last minute, but after the draw, Murray hit the shot again, and the Lakers were eliminated 1-4. In this round of the series, the Lakers performed much better than the Nuggets in the first half, but G2 was completed by the Nuggets with a 20-point reversal + kill, and in G5 it was reversed + killed, the Lakers' luck was too bad. Since the Lakers showed enough competitiveness and James also contributed a lot to the Lakers, the management decided to treat Lao Zhan well.
According to NBA reporter Shams, the Lakers plan to renew James with a three-year, $164 million contract, and James can add a trade veto to the contract. If James and the Lakers sign a three-year contract extension with a maximum salary, he will play until the age of 42.
I have to say that James's personal performance has conquered the management, in the first round of five games, James averaged 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game, especially in G5, the 39-year-old James once again showed the strength of Zhan, playing 44 minutes to hit 30 + 9 + 11 quasi-triple-double data, almost led the team to victory. In fact, judging from performance, Lao Zhan also deserves a contract with an annual salary of $50 million, after all, Bill can get a salary of 50 million, let alone James.
It is worth mentioning that the last player on the Lakers who had the right to veto a trade was the great Kobe Bryant, Kobe Bryant at the end of his career, the Lakers also offered him a 2-year $48.5 million contract extension, mainly to thank Kobe for his contribution to the Lakers. And now James is being treated even better than Kobe, and the Lakers are willing to give him a 3-year contract, which is really face-saving, which is also a sign of respect for James.
Moreover, the Lakers also plan to use this year's draft pick to select Bronny, allowing James to fulfill his wish to play in the NBA with his son. According to reporter Shams, the Lakers are willing to help James fulfill his desire to be on the same stage as father and son, and will help him achieve it directly through the draft. The Lakers have the 17th pick in the first round and the 55th pick in the second round in 2024, if the Lakers want to avoid Bronny being cut off, there is a high probability that they will use the first round to directly select Bronny, because this year is a small year of draft, even if it is a top ten pick star, the success rate is not very high, the Lakers should give James this favor, I believe Lao Zhan will also be very grateful.
However, Bronny didn't do well in college, wasn't even a regular on the team, and he missed a period of time due to cardiac arrest. The goal of the Lakers is to win in the present, while James is still in his prime, continue to attack the championship, and will not particularly care about the development of young players. Now, Bronny may only be a matter of time before he joins the Lakers, and after next season, fans should be able to see James and Bronny in Lakers jerseys, which will also create new NBA history.