Thanks to a loophole in the CBA, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will actually be losing money by staying with the Cavaliers next season.
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When the most recent CBA was drawn up in the NBA, it was designed so that players would have an incentive to stay with their current teams. With players able to make a lot more money and get an extra year with their current teams, the NBA has made it harder for them to leave and go elsewhere.
However, there’s always one little loophole or clause that backfires and ends up costing a player money. That player that is currently getting the short end of the stick courtesy of the CBA is Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James.
While James told everyone that he’s going to be staying in Cleveland, he’s expected to opt out of his current deal and take a one-year deal with the Cavaliers, so that he can make more money with the new salary cap spike.
However, that doesn’t appear to be case for James. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, James actually stands to lose around $3 million with the Cavaliers by staying.
"The reason for this is complicated in contract language and math. Summarized, the salary cap is leaping so much that the increase in the max contract parameters exceeds the 20 percent raise the Cavs are able to offer James.As is the case with almost everything else involving NBA numbers this summer, this is a never before seen situation."
So this complex issue for the Cavaliers is actually affecting their top player. While James is going to make sure he gets every penny on his new deal, it’s going to be interesting to see how him and the Cavaliers rectify this.
He obviously isn’t leaving, but he’s not going to just leave money on the table either. Contract language is always complex by design, but this seems almost too complex this time around.
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