Let’s just cut through it: LeBron James taking a pay cut might be the only thing that keeps Austin Reaves in Los Angeles and gives the Lakers a real shot at building something around Luka Doncic.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin dropped a pretty specific financial scenario Thursday that makes a lot of sense if you squint at the Lakers cap sheet. According to multiple league sources, the expectation is still that LeBron comes back to L.A. if he decides to play a 24th season. The Warriors are out there as a real option, sure, but the money gap between the two teams is basically a canyon.
The Warriors can offer James the non-taxpayer midlevel exception worth roughly $15.1 million. That’s $37 million less than he made last season. The Lakers could technically offer him a max deal worth three years and $182 million, but nobody around the league actually expects that to happen. Not even close.
The more realistic path, according to McMenamin, is something in the $20 million to $30 million range. A short-term deal at that number would let L.A. keep Reaves and still have room to fill out the rest of the rotation. That’s the kind of team-friendly number that could actually move the needle for a roster that needs help.
Reaves isn’t just another free agent for the Lakers
The 28-year-old guard just put up a career year — 23.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.7 boards and over a steal per game while shooting 49 percent from the field. And he did that while dealing with multiple injuries. The Lakers can offer him a five-year deal worth up to $241 million. Other teams can only go four years and roughly $179 million.
Rob Pelinka has been pretty direct about this. Reaves started his career in L.A. and has made it clear he wants to stay. But the Brooklyn Nets have cap space and could throw a max offer at him. That complicates things.
Still, sources close to Reaves say money isn’t the only thing he cares about. There’s real value for him in spending his whole career with one franchise. That kind of loyalty isn’t common anymore, but it matters when you’re talking about a guy who went undrafted and turned himself into a starting guard on a contending team.
LeBron’s camp isn’t tipping anything yet
Rich Paul, LeBron’s agent, went on The Pat McAfee Show recently and basically told everyone to pump the brakes. He said he hasn’t had a single conversation with LeBron about his future yet. The family is on vacation overseas, and this is going to be a family decision.
Paul also mentioned that 10 to 12 teams have expressed interest in James. That’s a lot of noise for a 40-year-old. But nobody is naive enough to think he’s going to any of those places if the Lakers make a reasonable offer.
If L.A. can lock up LeBron for something like $25 million a year and keep Reaves on a long-term deal, suddenly they have real flexibility to go get more shooting or a defensive wing. That’s the kind of offseason that turns a good team into a real threat around Doncic. If they can’t figure it out, they’re stuck watching the luxury tax eat their roster alive.
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