For the first time in more than a decade, LeBron James will play on a contract below the maximum level he was eligible to sign at, sources tell ESPN’s Bobby Marks, helping the Los Angeles Lakers avoid salary cap restrictions that could affect their roster going forward.
The Lakers announced Saturday that James has signed a two-year, $101.35 million extension that will allow him to play 23 seasons in the league and break Vince Carter’s career record of 22. The contract is about $2.7 million below the $104 million cap hit, sources told Marks.
The contract includes a player option for the second season, which grants James, 39, a no-trade clause by default by playing two consecutive seasons with one-year guarantees with his veteran status.
James’ rep, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN last week that James would be willing to take a pay cut to help LA land an “impact player” in free agency by opening the $12.9 million mid-level exception. That move came to naught after the Lakers failed to land Klay Thompson from the Golden State Warriors or DeMar DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls with the mid-level exception or a trade package, sources told ESPN.
Thompson was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday and DeRozan was traded to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
James’ salary allowed the Lakers to avoid the second $45,000 cap hit, sources told Marks, which would allow LA to avoid having its 2032 first-round pick frozen and included in a trade next summer as a penalty for carrying a total salary well above the salary cap.
Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka referenced the punitive nature of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement earlier in the week during the news conference introducing James’ eldest son, Bronny, whom LA selected with the 55th overall pick in the NBA draft.
“We’re in a competitive world now,” Pelinka said. “We’ve seen contending teams or championship-level teams lose players. That’s a result of the competitive world we live in. So does that make trades harder? Yes. Does that make good trades impossible? No. So we’re going to continue to look to improve our roster.”
If LA’s total roster compensation were to exceed $190 million for the 2024-25 season, the Lakers would not be able to recoup more salary in a trade than they sent out, which would rule out potential deals that don’t fit the rigid calculations — another penalty associated with the second apron.
James took only one pay cut in his career, in 2010, when he joined the Miami Heat on a two-year, $68.6 million deal. That left $15 million on the table to help the Heat build a team that went on to make four straight Finals appearances and win two championships.
