Conversation begins at the [4:45](https://youtu.be/cnSxWY6MACo?si=mMEPhOsxnlXCslNd) mark.
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>Now whether or not he is able to finish that deal, whether or not the Lakers want to give him a three-year contract and pay him $60 million when he’s 42 years old, that’s a different discussion.
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>I actually believe some of the stuff he’s saying right now isn’t just about this team it’s about already negotiating that contract.
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>\[The Lakers\] are in a much better position to make a major swing for a trade this summer and if other teams in the league have disappointing finishes, which you know there will be, you will see opportunities rise for the Lakers.
42 comments
Give him all the money, reset when he retires or starts to suck
“I don’t know if he’ll be back with the Lakers next year or not” Windhorst like a month ago.
Not to say he isn’t worth every dime, cause on&off the court he is, but if he’s serious about winning and can no longer be held to the same expectations as a 30yo star, is this not the time he take a paycut?
Especially under the new CBA and an ownership group who was making money saving moves prior to.
Downvote me if you want, but we’re not winning with LeBron in his 40s on that type of contract.
If he does something like 3/100 million that would help our cap space a lot.
This is always a moot point when it’s brought up. You could weekend at bernie’s LeBron on the bench and he’d still be worth more to an organization than any living athlete, and probably the dead ones too.
Lebron’s comments regarding retirement didn’t sound like someone who was looking for a 3 year contract.
Idk know how feasible contention is with a year 21-24 player is, no matter how great LeBron is. They’ll have to get a 3rd star or get a Boston level stacked support group for winning to be possible.
Due to the over 38 rule, he’s too old to sign a 4 year contract. I don’t really have a problem with giving Bron a 3 year max deal.
If he falls off a cliff all the sudden, he’d probably retire anyway so it’s not like it’s going to be dead money messing up the books. And we’re going to have to rebuild or at least reload when he’s done anyway, I’d rather ride with Bron till the wheels fall off than do anything else.
Jeanie will do it but she shouldn’t.
Honestly shame on LeBron. He’s a billionaire but is so devoted to player empowerment that he’s gonna cripple the club he plays for purely out of abstract principle. And we’ll let him do it and thank him for it.
3/110 for the win
if dlo can get like 20+m a year than even a 40 year old lebron with his averages is worth 33 x 3
in general this is a business decision for the lakers, if you let lebron eat at the end of his career, this is how you get superstars in their prime to want to settle in LA and get that big payday before they retire
he’s averaging 25 on nearly 40% from 3 and 7 A/R and a steal to cap it off on top of his experience and occasional big game
They should do like Gilbert Arenas says and pay his ass under the table, so we can have more $$$ to spend on other players and not was $$$ on the tax!
Doesn’t matter, it’s time for AD to step up, he’s been doing well lately
Nah no way. At 39 that’s crazy lol
He should take a pay cut, and the lakers need to try and get another star player.
No
Nice. Another roster with no depth
Lebron is not on Kobe level to the Lakers. Would be the worst contract in the league.
They need to call his bluff until he either accepts a reasonable deal or request a trade.
This feels like an assurance from a star player to come here but we will see.
Beyond the age, LeBron is still producing at a max level.
I think it’s fine since there hasn’t been any sign of complete washed up behavior
Am I the only who feels like lebron should take a paycut so we can build a good roster around him. We can’t swing for the fences if he’s on 55 mil a year
Even if Lebron falls off, he’s earned it for bailing out the Lakers. Give it to him
Lebron should take the minimum and allow the lakers to spend elsewhere. He already has all the money,
I don’t understand why a guy who can only help his legacy at this point by winning championships and has all the money in the world wouldn’t take a pay cut
He’s worth every penny idc. I want him to retire a Laker
LeBron needs to choose whether he wants money or a championship
He’s getting paid. Idk why ppl are debating because the Lakers always treat superstars well. Unless Bron wants to retire elsewhere, he’s retiring a Laker. Which is a *good* thing because it adds a mystique that could appeal to future superstars who may want to be Lakers. You don’t wanna be like that team in the Northeast that ships off their most loyal players to be marginally better for the next couple seasons, because players like AD sure don’t wanna play for those teams.
For the people saying that it’s stupid for Lakers ownership to re-sign LeBron, understand the NBA is a business, and LeBron James is great for business! In the year immediately following LeBron James coming to LA the franchise increased its top line revenue number by $39M or 10%. Comparing last year to 2018, the Lakers revenue was up $119M or 30%. Also, understand that much of their revenue is derived from long-term contracts which may or may not have been up for renewal during LeBron James is tenure. Now I understand many factors contributed to the year over year revenue growth, including inflation, the increasing popularity of the NBA as a whole, and the Lakers brand is a whole. And some of it would have occurred without LeBron James, but understand that LeBron James is still a marquee name that drives billions in revenue for a multitude of organizations, including the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers, Nike, ESPN, Fox Sports, and many other organizations. LeBron has been underpaid for his entire career given the revenue his name alone generates. Anything short of a max three-year deal would be disrespectful. Especially given the draw that his name would bring if he announced that this it is his last year playing. As a business minded person, I could just imagine the sheer amount of revenue that’s going to be generated from limited edition merchandise, ticket sales, and advertising based on game viewership. His last game as a Laker could probably pay for his last year by itself with the correct sponsorships in place. Over 6 million people watch Kobe’s last game live. Say what you want about LeBron but we can generally expect him to bring in at least this many eyeballs if not more give the the increased popularity of the NBA and greater access to streaming versus when Kobe retired. The recent Super Bowl brought in 123 million views and $600M in ad revenue. Given these numbers, Kobe‘s last game garnered about 5% of the Super Bowl viewership, which correlates about $30M in ad revenue alone let alone the merchandise you could sell for that entire year between NBA official merchandise and Nike.
He’s going to sign a 3/180. The Lakers aren’t going to let him go.
If there’s anyone that can fill out a max contract into their 40s it’s this guy
That would lineup with the 2028 Olympics Los Angeles. Imagine a 3 peat and capping it off with a gold medal in LA.
Windhorst was also convinced that LeBron would never leave Cleveland to sign with the Lakers
Please look at lakers cap space before saying he should take a pay cut, he would have to go under MLE probably for lakers to have more money to sign free agents. His salary will really only effect signing buy out guys because of the new rules. Vincent, Reeves, Rui, AD, Vando are why it doesn’t matter how much he signs for. And those guys would be used in trades if needed.
We have AD for at least 3 more years. We can only offer LeBron 3 years. We might as well. Keep him as a trade piece if any. Once Mitchell leaves cleveland, they might want lebron to hang it up in cleveland.
Just FYI lebron and Dlo would have to go on mins next year for lakers to have more cap space. Doesn’t really matter what he signs for yearly as everyone else is locked in for long term deals. A 3rd star would come in a trade only
Please no. That would be a huge mistake for us.
I respect bron etc and been fully supportive of him since he us a kaker. But bro, what do you want , winning or money. Because guess what, you can’t have both at your age. Because if you want that kind if money, stop complain8ng when you don’t gave the team mates to make you win. Take 30 millions that will make it possible to get a third star.
Lakers are insane if they agree to that
Personally, I would like to see Lebron take a voluntary pay cut. Even at 39 years old, he’s still worth 60m+ a year, not just because of the high level that he plays at, but the extra eyes that he draws to whatever team he plays for.
With that said, the dudes already a billionaire so what’s a 20 million dollar a year pay cut to him if he it means that lakers will have the flexibility to sign other guys to bigger contracts? I guess we’ll see this summer how serious Lebron really is about “winning now”
Demanding a max deal at 40 years old…
He better not ever claim to be all in on winning if he asks for that
Didn’t Windhorst also say Lebron might leave to play with his son