The Los Angeles Lakers, as presently constructed, are not close to title contention. That much was made heartbreakingly clear after they were just hit with the gentleman's end of the broom by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Lakers have Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, but they're in dire need of a true center and multiple players that can be counted on to defend and space the floor. Those things aren't cheap in today's NBA, and president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has to worry about the cap with every move he makes.
LeBron has a player option that he'll need to decide on this summer, specifically by June 29. It may sound unlikely, but Lakers fans are hoping that he opts out and comes back with a reduced salary. This would facilitate the moves that need to happen to give L.A. a better shot at its 18th title. Is there any chance of that happening?
LeBron has done everything in his power to inject himself into the GOAT conversation. It's unnecessary, of course, as his career accomplishments more than speak for themselves. Still, he knows deep down that the biggest thing separating him from Michael Jordan is rings. MJ has six, LeBron has four, and time is running perilously short to make up ground.
LeBron stans will point to his 10 Finals appearances, but nobody wants to hear how close you got to the top of the mountain, they want to know if you reached the summit. Even if he doesn't get to six rings like MJ, getting within one could take the sting out of that argument and give him a much better case in the GOAT discussion.
To that end, one Reddit user put forth a proposal: instead of opting in next year for $52 million, come back for $40 million instead. Obviously it's still a ton of money (even in this economy!), but that extra wiggle room could allow the Lakers to bring in multiple bigs that could make a difference, such as Nic Claxton, Steven Adams and/or Clint Capela. Are they enough to transform the Lakers from first-round flameouts to Finals contenders? There's only one way to find out.
LeBron has the chance to prove that winning is the most important thing to him
The Lakers may seem far away from being a top team, but that's not really true. They won 50 games despite having very obvious roster holes, and they ran into a bad matchup by facing a Timberwolves team that could physically bully them. Keep in mind though that Luka had only a couple of months to get acclimated to his new teammates and environment, and JJ Redick was still a rookie coach. With an entire offseason to work with, the Lakers should be much improved even if they stood pat this summer.
It's easy for fans to suggest that a superstar athlete should play for less money. It's also not very realistic, or really all that fair, if we're being honest about it. LeBron has been paid handsomely overthe course of his career, but he's been worth every penny and then some.
This isn't a proposal that would make sense with 99.9 percent of pro athletes, but for someone whose legacy is so important to him, it could make sense for LeBron. Look to the NFL, where Tom Brady is considered the GOAT not only for winning seven Super Bowls, but due to the fact that he often took a salary that was less than other top quarterbacks to help the Patriots front office surround him with championship-caliber players.
Besides, even though he's made more money playing in the NBA than any other player ever, LeBron has a history of accepting less than the max to help his team win. He did it with the Heat, and he's done it with the Lakers.
LeBron spent the first half of his career never being the highest-paid player on his team, a mind-boggling fact for someone who won four MVPs in that span. He even took a small pay cut this past season so that the Lakers could stay under the second apron, and he was reportedly willing to take a much larger one if it allowed the Lakers to land someone like Klay Thompson or Jonas Valančiūnas.
Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic have reported that people around the league believe that LeBron isn't likely to be so generous this coming season, but if Pelinka presents a workable plan to upgrade the team, he has to at least be willing to consider it.
LeBron is a billionaire already, and he has so many non-basketball revenue streams at this point of his life that it's doubtful he'd even notice if his check contained $12 million less next season. What he would notice is if he had to play as a small-ball center again for extended stretches next year, this time in his age 41 season. He'd notice if the Lakers got killed again by Rudy Gobert because they weren't able to bring in a center that's more serviceable than Jaxson Hayes.
LeBron has nothing left to prove, even if he does feel like he has to chase the ghost of Michael Jordan. He's indisputably the best player of his generation, and given the difference between eras, comparing guys from different decades may be fun, but it's ultimately a pointless exercise. He could retire tomorrow and know that his legacy is secure (author's note: please don't retire tomorrow, LeBron).
All of what I just said is true, but no matter how happy LeBron projects himself to be, nothing is sweeter than Adam Silver handing you the Larry O'Brien trophy as confetti rains down. If he wants to make one more run at it, deep down, he knows what he needs to do.