Not a ton has happened thus far in this free agency period for star small forward LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are clearly in need of a roster shakeup but are running out of options. The Lakers are coming off of their second straight playoff exit to the Denver Nuggets, and James recently opted out of his player option in order to sign a new contract with the franchise taking him into his age 40 season.
Recently, it was reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN that James might be willing to take a pay cut if the Lakers were able to lure in a big name free agent like Klay Thompson or James Harden; however, with both of those two options now gone, it appears that the star will sign for the maximum amount he can.
Now, some NBA insiders are speculating that that leak may have been a deliberate PR move from James' camp to earn him good favor with the public.
“If it works out it's the most magnanimous gesture ever the Lakers have returned to championship contention by signing one mid-level player and using draft picks to trade away D'Angelo Russell all because of the ability of LeBron James to give back to the Laker franchise, and if they fail to do that then he gets to take all his money and say you ‘guys, I messed up. I would have taken a pay cut you failed to get any players.' Seems like a great setup to me,” speculated Tim Bontemps of ESPN on the Hoop Collective Podcast.
Bontemps also spoke on why he believes that the Lakers missing out on Klay Thompson was ultimately a good thing for the franchise.
“I’m just gonna say I think the Lakers dodged a bullet by not doing this Klay Thompson thing,” said Bontemps. “It’s not that Klay Thompson cant play but it’s that this move would not have made them any kind of serious contender to anything except maybe get into the top six, maybe.”
What do the Lakers do now?
With Paul George, Klay Thompson, and James Harden now all signed to new contracts, Rob Pelinka and the Lakers' brass are quickly running out of options to reshape this roster. The biggest name left on the free agent market would appear to be DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls; however, with the analytically-savvy JJ Redick recently taking over as head coach, it's fair to wonder how DeRozan's love of the mid range might work–or not work–with Redick's three-point heavy philosophy that he figures to bring to the table.
As currently constructed, the Lakers are probably the eighth or ninth best team out West, and that's not even accounting for potential leaps by the Memphis Grizzlies or even the San Antonio Spurs this season. Since winning the championship in 2020, Los Angeles has made a series of poor roster decisions, some of them reportedly spearheaded by James himself, that have left them now mired in basketball purgatory in the twilight years of the (arguable) GOAT's career.
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