FROM THE ABOVE ARTICLE:

The Los Angeles Lakers face a long offseason with more questions than answers. Although they did well to nab the third seed in the loaded Western Conference, their roster’s holes were exposed by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who booted them out of the first round in only five games.

With LeBron James yet to decide on his player option and fellow superstar Luka Doncic eligible for a massive contract extension, money matters are expected to throw a monkey wrench in the Lakers’ plans to construct a more formidable roster and address the glaring need for a center and more defensive-oriented players.

However, veteran broadcaster Rachel Nichols proposed a bold approach, if LeBron is amenable to it, that would significantly boost Purple & Gold’s chances of recruiting another star or several role players, which can drastically improve their chances next season.

Take a massive pay cut
With little financial wiggle room and few assets to move around, the Lakers find themselves in a pickle regarding roster construction. However, one way to unshackle the team’s front office from its current conundrum is for LeBron to take a massive pay cut. Nichols specified that he must take the veteran’s minimum.

While the prospect of such a move may seem unlikely, given Bron’s business savvy and his past contract demands, it could be the necessary sacrifice to help the Lakers build a more balanced and sustainable team. By shedding a significant portion of his salary, James would free up valuable cap space for the Purple & Gold to pursue top-tier talent in free agency or via trades.

“LeBron has felt for a long time that he is, at large, big picture, underpaid. And that is why, ever since his first contract in Miami, after that, he has wanted the maximum amount of money. And he is absolutely right,” Rachel explained. “There is no amount of money that the NBA at large, or any team he plays for, could pay him to compensate for what he has brought to the NBA. So he is always going to be ‘underpaid.'”

Related: “I was probably emotional and upset and directed a lot of that anger toward the team” – Hill admits he regrets how his career in Detroit ended

A necessary sacrifice
To say the Lakers’ roster was flawed is to put it lightly. With no legitimate center or reliable defenders, they got blasted by a Timberwolves squad led by dynamic guard Anthony Edwards. If they aspire to keep up with the league’s best, they obviously need more pieces. This can only happen if “The King” takes a peasant’s salary, which Rachel said won’t hurt his bottom line.

“He is a billionaire. So, how much money he makes in the next year or two? It’s not even going to put a dent in his grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren’s pockets,” Nichols stated.

“And if I were LeBron, the thing you cannot buy with whatever amount of money you do get in that contract is championship rings. And if you took just the league minimum, and that allows a third really sort of huge superstar to come in,” she remarked. “Not only could he win another ring, but if he sticks around, and there’s certainly a lot of talk about the fact that he wants to now wait to play with his son, Bryce, who still has a year at Arizona coming up and there’s a couple of years until Bryce comes in the league — he could get maybe two rings.”

LeBron has achieved everything imaginable in his NBA career — and more. As he approaches the twilight of his journey in professional basketball, James might be considering the perfect moment to bow out at the pinnacle of success.

Not.
Happening.
$10 mil max pay cut. If even that and it would have to be for someone gravitational that alters our chances of winning significantly.
Vet minimum?
Please…Rachel should know better than to play with other people’s money. That’s an amateur’s game. She’s supposed to be a pro…

Neither could crack the Geniuses rotation so there’s that often ignored factoid. Hard to understand how both fell out of the playoff rotation so quickly and yet we got 5 awful minutes from max Kleber in the close out game. Odd.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

Los Angeles Lakers
2024-25 record: 50-32

Draft picks in June: No. 55

Free agents: LeBron James (P), Jaxson Hayes, Dorian Finney-Smith (P), Alex Len, Markieff Morris, Jordan Goodwin (T) and Christian Koloko (R)

State of the roster:

There is no denying that trading for Luka Doncic has given the Lakers their next generational star to help build a championship roster. Los Angeles had the eighth-best record since acquiring the 25-year-old, finishing third in the competitive Western Conference.

But as their lack of depth, size and late-game execution in the first round confirmed, the regular season is not the playoffs. President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka acknowledged when he traded for Doncic in February that the roster is far from a finished product. “We’re going to build a roster that fits JJ Redick’s basketball philosophy,” Pelinka told reporters in February.

The Lakers enter one of the more pivotal offseasons in franchise history. The future of LeBron James is a focus for a second straight offseason. James has a $52.6 million player option and again can enter free agency. Doncic is not a free agent but is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $229 million extension on Aug. 2. In the unlikely scenario a contract is not reached, Doncic will become a free agent in the summer of 2026. Then there is Austin Reaves, who is also eligible to sign an extension and could enter free agency at the same time as Doncic.

While re-signing the trio is the team’s top priority, how Pelinka improves the rest of the roster is worth monitoring. If the trade deadline was any indication, expect the Lakers to get aggressive.

The Lakers tried to acquire Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams at the deadline to provide Doncic with a lob threat and to help L.A. fill the hole made by trading away Anthony Davis, but the trade was rescinded after a failed physical. While the Lakers do not have cap space to sign free agent Myles Turner, for example, Los Angeles does have a 2031 first-round pick, five years of pick swaps, former first-round pick Dalton Knecht and over $70 million in expiring contracts (Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura, Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent) to use in a trade.

Offseason finances:

For a second straight offseason, James’ potential free agency plays a role in who the Lakers can add to their roster. James has a $52.6 million player option for next season. He and Finney-Smith have until June 29 to opt in for next season.

If James opts in or signs a new contract with a comparable starting salary, the Lakers will be $1.3 million over the luxury tax. They are $6.7 million below the first apron and will only have access to their $5.7 million non-tax midlevel exception. Because the Lakers are well below the second apron, they have flexibility to aggregate contracts in a trade.

Top front office priority:

How does losing in the first round a second consecutive season impact what happens next with James? The 40-year-old continues to defy time with his play on the court. After his birthday on Dec. 30, James averaged 25.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists in the regular season. If James does decline his player option, he is allowed to sign up to a three-year, $175.3 million contract with the Lakers. James has signed four contracts with the Lakers since 2018, with only one longer than two years.

Doncic, for his part, confirmed to ESPN’s Malika Andrews in an interview before the postseason that his intention is to remain with the Lakers. But while there should be confidence in Doncic extending, showing him what a post-LeBron roster could look like is a major priority.

There are multiple options on what Doncic’s extension could look like on Aug. 2, the first day he’s eligible to sign.

A four-year, $229 million max, where the $51 million first-year salary for 2026-27 replaces the player option for that season. More likely: a three-year, $165 million extension that includes a player option in the third year. The short-term extension allows Doncic to reenter free agency sooner and potentially recoup the $345 million he lost when he was traded from the Mavericks.

Extension candidate to watch:

The four-year, $53.8 million deal Austin Reaves signed in 2023 is considered one of the best value deals in the league. Reaves’ $13.9 million salary next season is below the non-tax midlevel exception. Reaves finished the regular season averaging career highs in points (20.2), assists (5.8) and rebounds (4.5). After the Lakers acquired Doncic, Reaves shot 48% from the field and 40% on 3-pointers in the regular season.

But the bargain contract also could play a role in Reaves deciding to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2026 offseason. Because of his team-friendly salary, the maximum extension the Lakers can offer is four years, $89.2 million. The first-year salary of $19.9 million is 140% of the average player salary, the maximum allowed under the CBA.

If Reaves bypasses the extension and becomes a free agent, the Lakers and teams with cap space would be allowed to sign him next offseason to a contract worth up to 25% of the salary cap. His first-year starting salary in that contract would be $42.5 million.

Other extension eligible players: Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber and Rui Hachimura

Team needs:

A lob-threat starting center, frontcourt size and reliable rotation players. The Lakers ranked last in the playoffs in points in the paint and third worst in paint points allowed. The Timberwolves’ bench outscored them by more than 16 points per game in the series.

Draft assets:

L.A. owes Utah a 2027 top-four protected first-round pick and Dallas an unprotected first in 2029. The Lakers are allowed to trade one first-round pick in either 2031 or 2032. Los Angeles does have the right to swap firsts in five seasons (2026, 2028, 2030, 2031 and 2032) and have one second-round pick available to trade.

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

LeBron James sparked some controversy on Thursday after comments he made on his Mind the Game Podcast with Steve Nash. In reference to the Timberwolves series, James said, “I’ve learned over the years that teams win championships.. Always.. I don’t lose sleep over that like, ‘F***, how did me and Luka lose?’ Well, there are eight other guys on the floor.”

There’s a lot to unpack here, as it does come off like James is throwing his teammates under the bus a little bit. He also failed to include Austin Reaves in the grouping of himself alongside Luka Doncic, indicating that he views Reaves as still more of a complementary piece than a true star.

Austin Reaves is coming off a five-game playoff series where he averaged 16 PPG on 41% from the field and just 32% from three. He wasn’t terrible offensively, but wasn’t great either. Factor in the reality that he is a liability on defense, and it wasn’t a great playoff series from him. Still, Lebron and Luka Doncic weren’t great on both ends every night, either and deserve much of the blame for the series loss.

Ignoring the Wolves series, a Reaves trade does make some sense for Rob Pelinka if the plan is to build around LeBron and Luka for next season. First of all, Reaves’ trade value will likely never be higher coming off a career year where he averaged 20.2 PPG on elite efficiency while averaging a career-high 5.8 assists per game.

Given the fact that Austin Reaves is turning 27 on May 29, it is unlikely he will get significantly better than what he is right now, given his athletic limitations on defense.

The second reason why a Reaves trade makes sense is the reality that he doesn’t fit great next to LeBron James and Luka Doncic. This is not a knock on Reaves. The reality is that a 41-year-old LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves-led team is just not going to be good enough defensively to compete for a title. Unless you can find a way to put a Rudy Gobert/Draymond Green level rim-protector behind them, they will not be able to consistently get stops over 16 playoff games in route to a title.

From last night: Anthony Edwards shook off a scary ankle sprain to get the Wolves back in the series, leaving his teammates in awe https://t.co/9QXZ0cGBwu— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 9, 2025

Antman. Ironman. Wolverine. Julius Randle believes Anthony Edwards is a Marvel character the way he can heal. 🤣This series has all the superheroes. 🦸‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/vH73XXC6dh— theScore (@theScore) May 9, 2025

I felt that once Luka was given to us, the LeBron era was over (as far as winning titles). It’s hard to switch the direction of an entire franchise from one of the elite 2-way post players in the league to one of the elite perimeter scorers the game has seen but no post presence. Hard to do in only 1 1/2 seasons. Lotta moving parts (including a coach still learning on the job) with not alotta time to do it if we’re trying to do it while LBJ is still here. Smart move is to look long-term at building around Luka instead of blowing a buncha capital banking on a miracle run next season.

#2 would be amazing.

NA-W best name on the list

The Laker curse Buba. We have brought in many 3 point shooters. Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Malik among others. All failed to live up to what they did prior. Rui is one of the few that actually improved their 3 point shooting with the Lakers.

“This is crazy dog I can’t believe this. C’s got me out here like this. I’m sweating. So I’m about 4 miles in right now. So I think I got another 16 miles?” — Paul Pierce https://t.co/XtCAFWofh1 pic.twitter.com/DubV1Jg6ho— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 8, 2025

🏀🔮 NEW FLOOR AND CEILING!🇸🇸 Duke and South Sudan center Khaman Maluach is a top 5 prospect in the 2025 #NBADraft for me. I break down his play finishing, the numbers behind his defense, and what his tape at previous levels might mean for his NBA upside. pic.twitter.com/8KaB4DWSKS— FLOOR and CEILING (Wilko) (@wilkomcv) March 29, 2025

One last plug for my full #nbadraft scouting report video on Duke and South Sudan center Khaman Maluach https://t.co/7kO4vio4Wm pic.twitter.com/anO4qCQpjE— FLOOR and CEILING (Wilko) (@wilkomcv) April 10, 2025

Khaman Maluach makes 14 straight 3s at pre-draft workouts and works on his handle and counters. 📹 @DraftExpress pic.twitter.com/TVoTF5LaBO— NetsKingdom 👑🗽 (@NetsKingdomAJ) May 7, 2025

COULD LAKERS TRADE FOR ATOP-10 PICK TO DRAFT CENTER?It's an interesting idea that's more than a pipe-dream since the Lakers now have a 26-year old superstar and it's the only way for L.A. to steal a Wemby level of generational player to be their center of the future.The… https://t.co/h7nwk4aqQM pic.twitter.com/G35sXu47PN— LakerTom (@LakerTom) May 8, 2025

Lakers COULD trade for blah blah blah guy lol