With a majority share of the Los Angeles Lakers set to be sold by the Buss family to Mark Walter, who has been the Los Angeles Dodgers’ primary owner since 2012, plenty of fans are wondering what that will mean as far as LeBron James’ future with the team.
James has a player option for next season that will pay him $52.6 million if he exercises it. He can also opt out and sign a new, slightly contract, whether he takes a pay cut or even agrees to one that would pay him more than his current deal.
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Some have criticized the Buss family for allegedly caving in to the whims of James and Klutch Sports when it comes to personnel moves. But according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the regime change won’t change James’ desire to remain with the franchise.
“I’m told that one person that this decision to sell the team has no bearing on his decision moving forward with the Lakers is LeBron James. He still has a decision at the end of the month to decide whether to opt in for next year’s contract worth about $56 million or opt out and become a free agent.
“This decision by the Lakers to sell the team has no bearing on where LeBron is going to choose to go next year. And, again, we’ve been given no indication thus far that LeBron won’t be a Laker next season.”
James averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds a game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range this season. Assuming he plays next season, as most expect him to, he would be participating in his 23rd NBA season, which would be a new league record.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: McMenamin: Sale of Lakers won’t affect LeBron James’ future with team