New LeBron Rumors Reveal Lakers and James' Stance on $50M Contract, Pay Cut and NBA Free Agency

ESPN's Brian Windhorst feels the Los Angeles Lakers will need to pose any potential below-max contract offer for LeBron James as a team-building tool rather than a pay cut because his play has declined ahead of his age-42 season.

James, who played last season on a $52.6 million player option, is currently set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer.

"The Lakers have a problem. The Lakers don't want to lose LeBron James, and they don't want to lose his 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists a game, but they don't want to pay $50 million for it because the rest of the league isn't going to come bidding $50 million," Windhorst said Thursday on ESPN's Get Up. "But here's the reality, if you have a superstar player, and LeBron James is still an All-Star and he is still a superstar player, still a top 20-25 player in the league, it's very hard to ask that player to take a pay cut whether he's 21 or 41.

"And if you want LeBron to take a pay cut, you can't just indeterminately say, 'Hey, will you take a pay cut?' You better bring him a reason to take a pay cut and explain that, 'Yes, the team was 0-8 against the Thunder this year but if we acquire this player or these two players with the money you're going to leave on the table, we can overcome that.'"

Windhorst continued, "I think LeBron would be open to that but the concept that he's just not as good anymore and that maybe he's only worth $30 million instead of $50 million, you're not getting that from LeBron James. LeBron James doesn't believe in that, and I don't expect him to accept that. And I'll tell you one thing, if you're the Lakers, if you force LeBron to leave, he'll go somewhere else and place for less money. He won't want to stay for the Lakers and play for less money because he thinks it's an insult."

The Lakers will need to negotiate a new contract this summer with Austin Reaves, who is expected to decline his $14.9 million player option for 2026-27.

After the Lakers' season ended with a second-round sweep by the Oklahoma City Thunder, general manager Rob Pelinka expressed interest in retaining both James and Reaves.

"Of course any team, including ours, would love to have LeBron James on their roster," Pelinka said during Tuesday's season-ending press conferences.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported Wednesday that at least one source near James feels it will be up to the Lakers whether they retain James, who they said "loves it in L.A."

McMenamin added that the tone of those upcoming contract negotiations could impact James' willingness to return for a ninth season with the Lakers.

"A source familiar with James' thinking told ESPN that the Lakers' approach in how they show their interest in retaining him will be a factor, beyond the simple dollar amount," McMenamin reported.

James has not yet confirmed he is returning for a 24th NBA season, but would receive interest from other teams likely including the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers should he do so.

The Athletic's Dan Woike and Sam Amick reported earlier this week, however, that "both James and the Lakers, according to team and league sources, have interest in continuing their partnership."

According to Woike and Amick, "Team sources still believe there are avenues for the roster to improve substantially if the Lakers retain both James and Reaves this summer, no matter how narrow those pathways might appear."

James' agent Rich Paul said when announcing his client had activated his player option last June that James "wants to compete for a championship" and "make every season he has left count."

The Lakers' ability to eliminate the Houston Rockets and make it to the conference semifinals while missing Reaves for most of the first round and Luka Dončić for the entirety of the playoffs might have helped convince James he would get another shot at a title by sticking around and hoping for a healthier run next season.

James has also signed for less than the max in Los Angeles before, when he signed for $2.7 million below the max in 2024. Pelinka's ability to negotiate with the league's all-time leading scorer could impact whether he is once more willing to leave money on the table this summer.