LeBron James Would Take $20M Pay Cut for Lakers to Acquire One of These 3 Players

LeBron James has opted out of his $51 million contract for next season in order to re-sign a new rich deal with the LA Lakers. But the word from ESPN is that LeBron is willing to take a $20 million pay cut from the maximum that he could command, IF the Lakers are able to bring in an established star to help fill out the roster.

Dave McMenamin dropped three names in particular that could get James to give up some cash so that the Lakers would have the full $12.9 million midlevel exception to sign such an "impact player."

The type of player that James would be willing to make a financial sacrifice for would be an established veteran playmaker such as James Harden or Klay Thompson, or an established big man to play alongside Anthony Davis such as Jonas Valančiūnas, sources told ESPN.

LeBron is eligible for a three-year, $162 million extension, but he'll be fine to somehow survive if his new deal is just worth $142 million, or he could go year-to-year, adds Adrian Wojnarowski.

"He is prioritizing a roster improvement," James' agent Rich Paul says. "He's been adamant about exuding all efforts to improve the roster."

LeBron James is willing to take a $20 million pay cut in order for the Lakers to secure the full mid-level exception, per @wojespn:

- There’s a sense LeBron will take it year-to-year now on new contracts instead of a multi-year deal.

- Klay Thompson and Jonas Valanciunas appear… pic.twitter.com/y2f2BULiHP
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 30, 2024

Klay Thompson is a very real possibility, in fact, according to reports on Sunday, as he is apparently "intrigued" about playing with LeBron.

Klay Thompson is “intrigued” about playing with LeBron James.

via @BA_Turner

- Klay grew up in LA
- Klay was reported to join the Lakers in 2019 if he wasn’t offered the Max by the Warriors
- Klay’s father is a Lakers broadcaster and former Lakers player pic.twitter.com/tKH13wQCYX
— 🦉 Lakers Vino (@VinoUncorked) June 29, 2024