Report: LeBron James unlikely to take pay cut, could opt into contract this summer

With the Lakers season now over, it’s time for everyone’s favorite game: what will LeBron James do this offseason?

The Lakers season ending brings with it the start of a new season in which everyone guesses what LeBron James will do during the summer.

Will he retire? Will he re-sign? Will he leave the Lakers? Will he ask for a trade? Will he move to England and start watching Liverpool games?

One of those is probably less likely than the other. And this summer finally feels like the one where no one believes he’s retiring. And with no one outside of Brooklyn having cap space this offseason, he isn’t signing somewhere else.

Realistically, then, he’s going to play for the Lakers next season, it just depends on what type of deal. Last season, he opted out of his contract and was open to taking a pay cut to help the team add pieces to compete for a title.

However, early reports indicate that might not be something on the table this offseason. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the pay cut LeBron was willing to take last season is not one he’ll take this season.

If James returns to the Lakers, though, league sources say he’s not expected to consider the kind of pay cut that was in play around this time a year ago. Last summer, James took a discount of approximately $2.7 million to help the Lakers stay under the second apron and maintain roster flexibility.

James considered taking an even steeper pay cut to help the Lakers land an impact player in free agency, with James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson and Jonas Valančiūnas on his list, league sources confirmed. The Lakers didn’t land any of them, and James instead signed for closer to his max.

Part of this could be the free agents available. Last summer, Klay Thompson was the primary target and he would have made lots of sense alongside LeBron and Anthony Davis.

This summer, there isn’t quite the same obvious fit where a pay cut from LeBron would make them a realistic option to sign. It is, however, also very early in this process. Perhaps the Lakers lay out a plan that entices LeBron to take that pay cut. Last season, it wasn’t even a rumored possibility until the start of free agency.

There is a very plausible scenario, though, where LeBron doesn’t accept a pay cut. In fact, Shams Charania of ESPN recently spoke about LeBron’s future and, while it was less of a report and more speculation, he said LeBron may just opt into his contract.

If he does just opt into his deal, it feels that would likely come with an announcement of next season being his final year. But that is another level of speculation.

Right now, it seems clear that there isn’t certainty in what LeBron is going to do this summer. Which means it’s basically just like every other recent summer with LeBron.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.