In a move that seemed to be a formality, LeBron James has agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After this deal, it appears James plans on spending the rest of his career with the Lakers.
Despite the Lakers having a terrible season last year, James still seems to be in the prime of his career.
Last season the 37-year-old averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game.
But, he was only able to play in 56 games.
The team around James is not very good so expecting the Lakers to win a championship would be fool’s gold.
The two other “stars” he is playing with are Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis.
Both cannot be trusted to be effective for a full season at this point in their careers.
So Why Was The Decision To Re-Sign A Good One For James?
For financial reasons, this contract has made James the highest-earning player in NBA history.
He has just surpassed $532 million in career earnings and that does not even include what he has made off the court.
Most guaranteed career earnings (millions):
$532 — LeBron James
$499 — Kevin Durant
$470 — Steph Curry
$450 — Damian Lillard— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 17, 2022
Playing in Los Angles has always been the goal for James, who has a huge brand off the court.
Not only does he have a huge clothing and shoe line with Nike, but he also has an acting career that is best served in Hollywood.
James is also invested in his kids and their basketball careers.
Leaving and going to play in a different city further away from his family was probably a non-starter for him.
James has always said that his goal is to be able to play with his oldest son in the NBA.
This contract extension gives him a player option in the 2024 season, the same year when Bronny James will be eligible for the NBA Draft.
Due to that, he could always opt out of the Lakers deal and go play with whatever team drafts Bronny.
Like father, like son @KingJames 💪
📹: @NBA, @espn pic.twitter.com/YP9CF8QdBv
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) August 15, 2022
James also knew that the teams with cap space to sign him next off-season would be nowhere as good as the situation he has in LA.
The teams with the most cap space are all bad teams that would not make any sense for James.
He already won a championship during the bubble season with the Lakers and if he can stay healthy anything is a possibility.
It will be interesting to see how the extension of LeBron impacts a possible Kyrie Irving trade.
Irving has said he wants out of Brooklyn with his sights set for LA.
Now that he knows James is there to stay maybe a win-now move to pair Irving with James and Davis is in play.
The only chance the Lakers have to win this season is if they add another star.
Plus in the past players usually look to team up with LeBron.
In most cases re-signing with a team that was nowhere near contention is a bad idea.
But, for James, this was the best decision he could have made and it will be interesting to see how it turns out in future years.
