Lakers’ LeBron James reportedly opting out to become free agent

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.

Lakers superstar LeBron James is opting out of his $51.4M player option for the 2024-25 season, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The expectation is James will return to the Lakers on a new deal, Charania reports.

This was the expected move, as we’ve written. As cap expert Yossi Gozlan observes, James can re-sign with the Lakers for a maximum of three years, $162M, which would take him through his age-42 season. The Lakers would be a first apron team if they brought him back. Additionally, he’s eligible for a no-trade clause.

The Lakers selected LeBron’s son, Bronny James, with the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 draft on Thursday. Re-signing with the Lakers would allow for LeBron to play next to his son, something he’s expressed interest in doing in the past.

LeBron’s maintained a high level of play even through his age-39 season, averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists while shooting 54.0% from the field and 41.0% from three through 71 games last season. His 71 games played last year were his most since 2017-18 with Cleveland, and LeBron helped push the Lakers to the playoffs, where they fell in five games to the Nuggets.

While the Lakers lost in the first round, they were competitive against the reigning champs, losing by a combined 11 points. With new coach J.J. Redick on board, Los Angeles seems poised to build on its core heading into next year.

LeBron’s spent the last six seasons of his career with Los Angeles, winning a ring in 2019-20 and passing several milestones while donning the purple-and-gold, including becoming the NBA’s all-time leader in points scored.

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