Everyone understood that LeBron James wasn’t leaving the City of Angels the moment the Los Angeles Lakers drafted Bronny James with the 55th pick.
While he claimed multiple times that he’s no longer interested in playing with his son to lessen the pressure on the 19-year-old, everyone quietly understood that he wasn’t going to leave his son alone in the Lakers locker room.
The only thing people were waiting on during the entire thing was how long James would be playing with the Purple and Gold. Many still find it insane that King James can still perform like a top star despite approaching the unbelievable age of 40, but that just goes to show how incredible of an athlete he is.
With everything set for him to return, all the Lakers fans had to do is sit and wait for the chips to fall. However, it didn’t take long for the team to release an update on Bron’s contract status.
LeBron James signs a new two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers
The Spun’s Matt Hladik shared details on LeBron’s new contract and the logic behind the arrangement:
According to reports, James will sign a two-year, $104 million contract, which includes a player option for 2025-26 and a no-trade clause.
This structure presumably provides flexibility for the 39-year-old star to take things year-by-year when deciding how much longer he will play.
LeBron staying with the Purple and Gold is a win for Laker Nation as they do not have the capability to attract any other top-tier talent away from their respective squads. The team also needs to do a lot of work this offseason if they’re going to be all-out contenders for the Larry O’Brien trophy next season.
Fans will expect more of the same LeBron James that they have been watching the past couple of years. It wouldn’t be reasonable to count on King James to repeat his 2023-24 regular-season stats (25.7 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 54.0% FG, 41.0% 3FG) next season.
Hopefully, the Los Angeles Lakers will be able to win another championship before LeBron finally calls it quits and leaves the team scrambling for a rebuild.
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