Will health and a coaching change be enough for the Los Angeles Lakers to rebound from a terrible season? We may find out soon enough as the Lakers are stuck without a commitment from James, whose contract expires after the 2022-23 season.
Competing executives and agents do not expect the team to get clarity from James ahead of the draft and free agency, according to Bleach Report.
Via Sam Amick from the Athletic:
“Based on my conversations with people who have a strong sense of such things, it’s clear James is considering playing out this contract rather than signing a two-year extension this summer. If flexibility and freedom are the goals here, James (who is owed $44.4 million next season) could go back to the year-by-year approach he perfected in his second Cleveland stop,” said Amick.
Next season will be the final season of LeBron’s contract, and he will be eligible to sign an extension on August 4.
Through 19 NBA seasons, the four-time NBA champion has made 10 appearances in the NBA Finals. However, in the 2021-22 season, the Lakers missed the playoffs. It was the second time in four years that Los Angeles did not qualify for the postseason since James signed on with the franchise.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NBA stories via Google! Follow Us
James still ended up recording 30.3 points per game, the second-highest average of his career, proving he can still play at an elite level at the age of 37.
