Will Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James become an unrestricted free agent?

While there is understandably still a heavy focus on the acquisition of JJ Redick as the team’s new coach, the contractual situation surrounding the team’s star is of grave concern. What comes next for the Lakers and the NBA’s all-time leading scorer?

LeBron James will opt out

According to reports, LeBron James is expected to opt out of the final year of his present deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and as such will become an unrestricted free agent. With that said fans in LA can rest easy as the general consensus appears to be that the 39-year-old will not explore the market, but rather he will remain with the Lakers.

There are, however, a few things to consider - two specifically. Firstly, by becoming an unrestricted free agent, James can in theory sign with any team in the league. This brings us to the second aspect of his pending free agency: The no-trade clause. To clarify, James has played for the Lakers for more than four years and in the league as a whole, for more than eight such that he can receive the aforementioned no-trade clause. On the other hand, said clause can’t be added to an existing contract or an extension. To that end, James’ only path to securing one was to opt out of his current deal.

In doing so, James has understandably forfeited some income but it’s important to note that his projected three-year max deal as a free agent is estimated to be around $162 million. Going further, that figure would start at his max salary, one that is 5% above last season’s $47.6 million, while also including an 8% raise for the remaining two seasons. This is to say that if James were to go the opposite way and opt-in to extend, he’d earn more than $164 million in total across the new deal due to the fact that he would start at his max based on this year’s projected cap, rather than the player option figure of $51.4 million.

OK, but why are there limitations on LeBron James’ deal?

The simple reason why James can’t sign for more than three years is down to the Over-38. Conversely, the difference in money between the two contracts is negligible which leads us to believe he’s decided to forgo a little extra cash in order to have the security of a no-trade clause. To be clear, there has been no indication that the Lakers want to do anything other than give James what he wants, but as the saying goes, ‘better to be safe than sorry.’

Again, it is widely expected that James will remain in LA but were he to take a look at the market there would be no shortage of offers for the player many consider to be the greatest in NBA history. The Philadelphia 76ers for starters are said to be on the hunt for a star and more importantly, they will also have maximum cap space this coming season. There’s also the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder who could in theory arrive at max cap space with a few moves in the market.

Lastly, we’ve got sign-and-trade possibilities, or, even opt-in and trade possibilities as well. Mind you, James is under no obligation to make a decision before June 29th. So, there is still time. At any rate, we can only go with what has been reported thus far which is that James is going nowhere. Indeed, that idea has likely been given even more weight by the appointment of JJ Redick as the team’s new head coach. Redick of course co-hosts a podcast with James and has been hailed for his basketball IQ along with his ability to connect with players. There’s also Bronny James - LeBron’s son - and the upcoming NBA Draft which could have an effect on decisions. Of course, these are all just details. By all accounts, LeBron James is staying in Los Angeles.