The inevitable happened on Wednesday, as the Lakers and LeBron James agreed to a two year contract for max (or near max -- getting to that in a moment) money, about $104 million. The second year? A player option. So there's a good chance LeBron and the Lakers are right back here next year.
It means, first and foremost, that the window LeBron opened by offering to take less money in year one so the Lakers could improve the team by acquiring a higher cost player that might require the full midlevel exception, for example, has likely closed. Well, the Lakers haven't been able to make that happen and don't appear to be in position to make it happen before the end of the free agent moratorium on Saturday.
So was LeBron serious when he made the offer? Was it done in good faith? Was it done only with a mind to PR, and trying to manage the fallout of an offseason where, to say the least, the optics could tell a story of a star player getting A LOT of things he wanted? (His preferred coach, his kid on the team, etc.)
Are these things mutually exclusive?
Now the Lakers must go forward with a very constrained roster, one that will be difficult to manipulate without finding trade partners. Which is a tricky thing given the roster construction. They're also full, which gets to the roster spot taken by Bronny James, who signed his deal today. It is, in most ways, similar to the contracts given to most second rounders at this point, save a more generous buyout for Year 3 than some other players have received. On the other hand, the Lakers, realizing the roster crunch they'd be facing, still gave him a guaranteed deal, rather than a 2-way contract. Not all late second round picks would be afforded that luxury. (Many, yes. All, no.)
It's just one reason why the chatter around Bronny isn't likely to dissipate fast, especially if he struggles in Summer League, which kicks off this weekend.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 1: LeBron agrees to a new deal.
SEGMENT 2: Was Team James negotiating in good faith, when it comes to his offer to take less?
SEGMENT 3: Bronny gets a contract. More nepotism?
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