After the Lakers lost 4-1 to the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers and James also entered vacation mode early. But James has not been idle this offseason, while busy with his eldest son Bronny's participation in the NBA draft, and on the other hand, he has to negotiate a contract extension with the Lakers, and his offseason life is tense and fulfilling.
Some time ago, American media reporter Marc Stein mentioned James in the program, saying that the Lakers are likely to sign a new contract with James this summer, although it is not yet known and unclear the length and amount of the contract, but it is certain that this is a super contract that can satisfy almost everyone in James' team, which will help James to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for the rest of his life, which is a win-win situation for players, teams or leagues.
Previously, well-known reporter Shams had news that the Lakers were willing to give James a three-year, $164 million maximum salary contract, which of course required James to jump out of his current contract and re-sign with the team. But if James chooses to exercise his contract player option for the upcoming season, he could also be eligible for a two-year, $112.9 million contract extension with the Lakers. The difference between the two contracts is about $51.1 million, which also coincides with James' contract salary for next season ($51.4 million), so there is little difference between the two contracts, and all James has to do is sign at the right time.
James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the regular season, and in the playoffs, James averaged 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Although he failed to lead the Lakers through the first round of the playoffs, James is still one of the best players in the league, and at the age of 39, he is old and strong, and he can still lead the Lakers forward. Lakers management is not going to let James go easily.
James currently has a one-year player option on his current contract with the Lakers, and if James chooses to continue with his contract, he will be under contract for next season (2024-25) for $51.4 million. Whether it's executing next season's contract or renewing it with the team early, the control of all this is in James' hands, and the player can still have the confidence to talk to the team at the age of 39, which is something that only two people in the entire NBA history can do, the last one was Jordan, and now it is James.
Of course, now James has to consider not only the salary cap in the last few years of his career, his historical status, but also the future development of his son Bronny in the NBA. Bronny's performance in the NBA joint trial exceeded people's expectations, and the Lakers currently hold the 17th pick in the first round of this year's draft and the 55th pick in the second round.
"Fight tiger brothers, go into battle father and son soldiers." Maybe next season we can see the situation of NBA players father and son competing on the same stage, superstar (James) + super giant team (Lakers) + international metropolis (Los Angeles), such a situation must be very interesting, and it will also detonate the box office and greatly increase the ratings.
Let's look forward to it, and hopefully don't make the fans wait too long.