It’s been 23 years since LeBron James entered the NBA, and he’s still one of the most prominent figures in the greatest basketball tournament on Earth.
However, he may no longer have the same pull he once had, not even on his own team. The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t sign him to a new contract last offseason, and with Austin Reaves set for a big payday, it looks like they will willingly let him walk away in free agency.
Years ago, most NBA teams would’ve been lining up to get him. According to NBA insider Ramona Shelburne, that may no longer be the case. Talking on ESPN, she argued that teams may not be willing to pay him as much as they did in the past, and he’d have to take a huge pay cut if he were to return to Los Angeles:
“The sense I have is that this idea of playing for $50M anywhere is probably gone, but if (LeBron) is willing to play for less, if that fits with what (the Lakers) are trying to do, I think that door is open,” Shelburne said (h/t Oh No He Didn’t).
Shelburne believes the Lakers will prioritize the Luka Doncic-Austin Reaves duo, so James would be looking at far less money in his next contract in Southern California:
“Right now, it’s almost like he’d be reversing roles with Austin in terms of salary,” Shelburne added.
Reaves is currently making $13.9 million, and he has a player option for next season. He’ll likely decline it to negotiate a new long-term deal, be it with the Lakers or elsewhere. LeBron, on the other hand, is in the final year of his two-year, $101.3 million contract.
James is worth over a billion and has made just over $580 million in NBA salary alone, so money shouldn’t be an issue. That said, this signals how he’s lost his spot as the top dog in the league.