DHJ Quick Take
- Proposed Contract Terms: An Eastern Conference executive recommends that the Los Angeles Lakers offer LeBron James a lucrative one-year contract featuring a no-trade clause for next season.
- Business First Approach: The executive emphasizes that keeping the superstar is a smart business decision under new owner Mark Walter, as James remains a massive draw for ticket sales and local television partners.
- Offseason Leverage: As James enters unrestricted free agency this summer for the first time since 2018, the short-term deal serves as a strategic way to retain the oldest active player in the league.
One NBA executive from the Eastern Conference told ESPN that the Los Angeles Lakers should give LeBron James a one-year deal with a no-trade clause this offseason.
James becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer for the first time since 2018. The 41-year-old is the oldest active player in the NBA. He turns 42 in December.
“I’d pay LeBron whatever he wants as long as it’s a one-year deal, no player option. Give him the no-trade clause,” the East executive said. “Everything [new Lakers owner Mark] Walter has done so far has been about good business. LeBron sells tickets. He keeps the [local] TV partner happy. Re-signing LeBron is good business.”
Most people who cover the NBA believe that if James doesn’t retire this offseason, he will either re-sign with the Lakers or return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third stint.
James joined the Lakers in the summer of 2018 and guided the franchise to the 2020 championship. Before his arrival, Los Angeles hadn’t made the playoffs since 2013.
The Lakers acquired Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks last season. Los Angeles is building around Dončić and Austin Reaves now. Reaves is expected to re-sign with Los Angeles this summer after he declines his player option for next season, sources told Dallas Hoops Journal.
A 22-time All-Star, James played in 60 games this regular season for the Lakers. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. Los Angeles won 53 games in Year 2 of the JJ Redick era and had a record of 39-21 when James was in the lineup.
“By our metrics, he remains a top-25 player in the league and if not for his age, we’d probably assess him at near max player level,” one Eastern Conference team strategist told ESPN. “Our coaches would tell you he ranks even higher than that when his legs and back are feeling good.”
Los Angeles defeated the Houston Rockets in the first round of this year’s playoffs in six games but got swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. Reaves missed Games 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Rockets series with an oblique injury, while Dončić missed the entire playoffs because of a serious hamstring injury.
After the Thunder swept the Lakers, James was asked about his future during his postgame press conference with Los Angeles reporters.
“I think you guys asked me about [retirement], and I’ve answered questions. I don’t think I’ve come out and been like, ‘Oh, retirement is coming,'” James said. “With my future, I don’t know, honestly. It’s obviously it’s still fresh from, obviously losing [the series]. And I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds for me.”
A source familiar with James’ thinking told ESPN that the Lakers’ approach in how they show their interest in re-signing him will be a factor.
James has played in 479 regular-season games and 63 playoff games with Los Angeles. He has averages of 25.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game in the regular season and 25.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game in the playoffs.
Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka told Los Angeles reporters during his exit interview that he would “love” for James to return next season. It will be intriguing to see what happens with arguably the greatest player in NBA history.
“We probably haven’t seen a player that has honored the game to the extent that he’s honored the game,” Pelinka said of James. “He’s given so much to his teammates, to this organization. And the thing we want to do more than anything else is honor him back. Any team, including ours, would love to have LeBron James on their roster.”
James has close relationships with Dončić, Reaves and Redick, sources said. However, his relationship with Pelinka and Jeanie Buss hasn’t always been positive, sources said.
A future Hall of Famer, James is a four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP. He’s played for the Cavaliers (twice), Miami Heat and Lakers and is the all-time leader in points, field goals, games and minutes.
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