According to NBA insider Dave McMenamin of ESPN, LeBron James is willing to take a pay cut on his next contract if the Los Angeles Lakers can get James Harden, Klay Thompson or Jonas Valanciunas.
LeBron, 39, has declined his 2024-25 player option with the Lakers worth $51.4 million. He will re-sign with LA and is open to taking a discount if the franchise can get an impact player.
“The type of player that James would be willing to make a financial sacrifice for would be an established veteran playmaker like James Harden or Klay Thompson, or an established big man to play alongside Anthony Davis — like Jonas Valančiūnas, sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote.
Harden, Thompson and Valanciunas are unrestricted free agents. Harden played for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24, Thompson played for the Golden State Warriors and Valanciunas played for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Thompson won’t return to the Warriors and Valanciunas won’t return to the Pelicans. The Clippers, meanwhile, would like to keep Harden.
LeBron averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks for the Lakers in 2023-24 in 71 games while shooting 54.0% from the field, 41.0% from 3 and 75.0% from the free-throw line.
A 20-time All-Star, LeBron joined the Lakers in 2018. He helped the franchise win the 2020 championship at the Walt Disney World bubble.
LeBron is a four-time MVP, a four-time Finals MVP and a four-time champion. He’s arguably the best player in NBA history.
A future first-ballot Hall of Famer, LeBron has career averages of 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Lakers.
LeBron is the only player in NBA history to rank top five all-time in points and assists, the only player to win three Finals MVPs with three different teams, the only player with 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 career assists and the only player to score 40,000 points.
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