$52.6 million is in pocket, James stays in the team! Identified pressure is ignored + Lakers career countdown

Execute the player option, $52.6 million is included in the bag, James is sure to stay in the team! The agent Ricci Paul's signature pressure was ignored by the Purple and Gold Army. Famous reporters followed up and revealed that his influence was not as good as before, and the Lakers' career entered the countdown.

$52.6 million stay in the team, according to ESPN's famous reporter Shams, James' agent Ritchie Paul revealed to ESPN that James will execute the player option worth $52.6 million in the 25-26 season.

This makes James the first player in NBA history to compete in his 23rd season, and ends the speculation that James may be able to reduce his salary and stay in the team in order to make the Lakers use $14.1 million in full middle class special case.

With James executing the player option, the Lakers' total salary exceeds a luxury tax line, and the team can only use the $5.7 million mini middle class.

The landmark pressure was ignored

Shortly after the famous reporter Shams revealed the news, Ricci Paul completed the landmark pressure through public voice.

"LeBron knows that the Lakers are planning for the future, but he values ​​the opportunity to win the championship immediately now, and he hopes that every remaining season will be meaningful," Ritchie Paul added.

Another reporter Sam Quinn forwarded the report, bluntly saying that Rich Paul's words seemed to imply that the Lakers value the salary space in 2026 more and do not intend to invest a lot of assets to compete for the championship next season.

The Athletic famous reporter Sam Amick wrote an article further mentioning Ricky Paul's supplementary voice, bluntly saying that this is the iconic media moment in James's career so far.

In the past, when Ricky Paul spoke, the management of James' team would panic and feel strongly uneasy, but now the Lakers' attitude is very indifferent, and they can even be described as emoticons of shrugging their shoulders and spreading their hands. The fundamental reason for such changes comes from two aspects. On the one hand, James is old and his negotiation influence is different from the past. On the other hand, the Lakers have won Doncic, which is the team's future.

According to subsequent ESPN salary expert Bobby Marks, after being missed a five-year, 345 million super maximum salary by the Mavericks, Doncic can sign a four-year, 229 million contract with the Lakers this summer to fill some of the losses.

Of course, the greater possibility is to sign a three-year contract of 165 million, and the last year is the player option, so that Doncic will quickly return to the free market in the future, so as to pursue a larger contract in the near future.

The Lakers' career has entered the countdown

With James executing the player option, it means that he will play for the Lakers for eight consecutive years, setting a record for the longest time he played for a team in his personal career, which was previously 7 years for the Cavaliers.

However, the prospect of continuing cooperation between the two sides is not optimistic. In the follow-up report, famous reporter Sam Amick pointed out that James had not even discussed with the Lakers about renewal and re-extension of contract before executing the player option.

Instead, the James team sent a signal that there would be no salary cut in advance, and the Lakers management did not mention any form of salary cut renewal plan out of respect.

Sam Amick also bluntly stated in the article that the Lakers generally believe that James' career has come to an end, so after the end of next season, he will not consider renewing James with a maximum salary, but will build a team around Doncic.

Therefore, some senior executives within the league are also confirming whether this is a precursor to the possibility of James being traded. Sam Amick's explanation is whether it is Ricci and Paul trying to put pressure on or the Lakers are planning a trade.

One thing that is clear is that even if James does not retire next summer, it is very likely his last season in wearing the Lakers jersey.

James holds the initiative

US Records Evan Sidery even followed up and revealed that if the Lakers' subsequent adjustments cannot give James a hope of breaking out of the West, he may apply for a deal because he is fully aware that the Lakers' future belongs to Doncic.

Since James held the trade veto and 15% trading margin when signing the 1+1 contract, these two rights continued after executing the player option, so James held the initiative in the trade.

Lakers reporter Ryan Ward followed up and pointed out that if James proposed a deal, he would guess he would return to the relatively less competitive East, such as joining the Knicks or the Cavaliers.

Yahoo Sports reporter Kevin O 'Connor had an in-depth discussion on James' return to his old club, the Cavaliers, pointing out that due to the cap space, the Cavaliers could only trade through three parties if they wanted to get James.

Team reporter Jovan Buha followed up and pointed out that if James traded, the Mavericks were also a name worthy of attention.