Rachel Nichols has called for LeBron James to make a big call on his LA Lakers contract.
The LA Lakers crashed out of the first-round after losing out to Minnesota Timberwolves, where young guard Anthony Edwards also gave LeBron James a heartfelt tribute.
The defeat brought a lot of criticism to James, who broke down how the dynamics of the team changed after the Luka Doncic trade.
Next season is going to be James’ 23rd year in the league, but there is no doubt on his ability to produce, which is why the Lakers will once again be in the running to win a championship.
Rob Pelinka confirmed the team is willing to do anything that could help LeBron James win a fifth ring, but veteran presenter Rachel Nichols has said the four-time MVP might have to help out.
James has a $52million player option for the next season and he has to make the decision before June 29.
With Doncic also part of the Lakers, the team might find it hard to facilitate two max contracts and add another star to bolster the roster.
This led Nichols to share her opinion on James taking a potential pay cut to help the Lakers build a team around Luka Doncic and him.
She said: “LeBron will never be paid enough to compensate for what he’s done for the NBA, so I get wanting to at least get max deals.
“But Tom Brady took pay cuts to stack his teams, and it paid off in rings. Worth considering now that Luka changes the math on LA’s future title chances.”
Doncic has two years left on his current contract and is due to earn over $45 million next year.
This will take Lakers’ salary cap to just under $100 million for two players.
While discussing the future of James in LA, Nichols also added: “If I were LeBron, the thing you cannot buy with whatever money you do get in that contract is championships.
“If you took the league minimum and were to allow a third really good sort of huge superstar to come in, not only could he win another ring, but if he sticks around and there’s certainly a lot of talk about him wanting to wait to play with his son Bryce, who still has a year in Arizona, he could get maybe two rings.”
Pelinka has already stated the Lakers’ offseason plans of adding a big on the roster, which should help out massively with the defensive struggled the team had in the playoffs.
However, they have a few extensions to take care off in the summer, which is what makes executing a move for a big a tough one to pull off.
If James was to opt out of his current contract and take a lesser salary by signing a new deal, the Purple and Gold could make some big moves.
Not only would that seal Doncic’s extension, but also give the Lakers some room to look at the situation of players like Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves.
The team will definitely need a center, but with reports of Giannis Antetokounmpo wanting a move to a major market, the Lakers could cash in for him, but they cannot do that with James’ massive contract still on their books.
He did not take a pay cut when he signed his current contract last year, but having seen the roster and assessed what is needed for the Lakers to succeed, James could sign a new deal taking lesser money to help build a championship roster.
