Whether it’s Anthony Davis’ dominance, Max Christie’s struggles or a potent bench lineup, there’s plenty to discuss from a fantastic unbeaten start to the Lakers season.

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After a great win on opening night against the Timberwolves, the Lakers clawed out two more victories on both ends of a back-to-back, first coming back from a 22-point deficit before handling the Kings with a LeBron James-led 21-0 blitz to start the 4th quarter.

The Lakers, then, are 3-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 season when Kobe and Pau led the way on the court and Phil Jackson paced — or, really, sat in his elevated chair — the sidelines. The Lakers have cycled through seven coaches since then, finally landing on JJ Redick and his obsessive attention to detail that has clearly made inroads with an almost identical group of players who just a season before began the season 1-2.

As Anthony Davis said after Saturday’s win over Sacramento, however, this is a different Lakers team and they’re intent on showing the league just that. And, if they rack up a few more when they venture out on their five-game road trip, they may just start making believers out of more folks.

Before then, though, here are five (mostly positive) observations about the Lakers through these open three W’s.

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Dominant AD

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There are not enough superlatives to describe Anthony Davis’ play to start the year, but he’s playing like one of the very best players on the planet and is putting up numbers that place him next to some of the all-time greats to ever play for the Lakers.

Against the Wolves, he was dominant on both ends, scoring 36 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while blocking three shots and just wreaking havoc defensively. Against the Suns, the rebounding was not quite as great, but the buckets still were as he poured in 35 more points to go with two more blocks and a steal.

And then against the Kings it was 31 more points, nine more rebounds, two blocks and three steals. He’s also tallied 10 total assists in the three games, connected on two of his five three-point attempts, is shooting 57.1% from the field overall and is punishing teams in the paint en route to 15 free throw attempts per night.

I don’t know if Davis will continue to score this well — much of that will depend on the rate in which his jumper goes in and whether he can continue to go to the foul line this much — but what I can say is that this is who he’s been as a player for well over a year now. His numbers are up because he’s getting more chances, which is directly related to this coaching staff being very intentional in how they’re trying to use him and AD’s teammates following through on those plans.

But don’t mistake this sort of productivity to him being back to some previous version of himself. No. This is who Davis has been for some time now.

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LeBron feeling his way through

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Through three the season’s first 11 quarters, it would have been fair to wonder if LeBron was starting to show a bit of a decline as he approaches his 40th birthday in his 22nd season. He was not as consistently creating advantage in the post or via drives, was missing more shots in the paint than what we were used to seeing, and, despite a few highlight plays, looked a bit less explosive than he did even just a couple of months ago at the Olympics.

And then LeBron detonated 16 points in a shade under three minutes of game time and turned an entire game around basically by himself. Which brings me to the larger point; LeBron may indeed be showing more signs of his age, but I’d argue those signs are as much about him holding things back and understanding the risks of trying to call on those aspects of his game too frequently rather than his game diminishing in real ways when he’s dialed in and looking to make an impact.

Said another way, LeBron looks as much like a player who is feeling his way through these games and measuring out exactly what he thinks is required in any given moment rather than someone who has taken any sort of large step back as a player.

And maybe that’s obvious. Or maybe it’s easier to say after the sort of explosion he showed against the Kings. Either way, it seems clear to me that Bron is willing to try to do less or, more accurately, is willing to try to do it with less physical output rather than push the envelope.

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Austin’s leap, a year later?

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> >Austin Reaves enters the 2023-24 season as the Lakers third-best player and someone who, if you just started to rattle off random achievements in which each advancing one the prestige or plain old difficulty jumped up a level, I wonder how far we could get before we absolutely ruled it out. > >I mean let’s try.... > >Austin Reaves has a 50/40/90 season (last season he was 52.9/38.9/86.4) > >Austin Reaves averaged 6+ assists a game (last season he averaged 3.4) > >Austin Reaves averaged 18+ points a game (last season he averaged 13.0) > >Austin Reaves makes the All-Star team > >That last one feels like a real stretch, but the other ones feel well within the realm of possibility. And, let me tell you, if Reaves averages 18 and 6 on 50/40/90 shooting the Lakers are going to be a damn good basketball team. And if the Lakers are that good, that final one doesn’t feel too far out of reach either.

I wrote the above a little over a year ago in the season preview capsule for Austin Reaves. And while Austin had a good 2023-24 season, he fell short of every statistical benchmark I laid out.

Make no mistake, averaging 15.9 points and 5.5 assists on 48.6/36.7/85.3 shooting splits is damn good. It’s just not the leap some of Reaves’ more optimistic supporters believed were totally on the table for him.

Well, it may just be possible that the leap that I thought could come last year is here now. Yes, it’s only three games, but Reaves’ current averages are 18.0 points and 6.0 assists on 55.3/43.8/71.4 shooting splits. Basically, he’s reaching every level I said he could hit last year, save for his free throw percentage.

There’s a comfort and confidence Reaves is playing with, too, that is palpable. He’s clearly in really good shape and has his legs under him.

But beyond that, he is playing with a command of his own game and of what is being asked of him within the team’s offense that is translating to his own production and to that of his teammates. He’s also back to playing defense more consistently, showing the sort of grit, hustle, and attention to detail that were critical parts of how he carved out a role as a rookie under Frank Vogel.

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Max’s struggles

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If Austin is looking sharp to start the year, Max Christie is on the other end of the spectrum, particularly on offense. Again, with all sample size caveats being acknowledged, Max has opened the year hitting just two of his first eight shots, including one of his first six three-pointers.

He’s a team worst minus-42 in the box score, which isn’t all on him. But part of the struggles of those groups is that they cannot score, which is at least related him him not hitting shots and his offense within the team structure being a bit clunky.

He’s sailing post entry passes, has taken some quick trigger threes, has forced some drives and, in general, his playmaking and ball handling just isn’t to a level where he looks ready to do much offensively besides shoot a spot up jumper or catch the ball on a cut where he can try to finish with force at the basket.

On the flip side, his defense has been well ahead of his offense and he’s been at worst neutral and, on several possessions, very good. He’s run into some foul trouble at times, but he’s staying attached to his man, is mostly doing a good job to contain the dribble at the point of attack, and is really working hard to pick up the ball full court, navigate screens, and exert pressure in his individual matchup.

So, it’s not all bad with Max, and I’d argue that his defense should continue to give him chances. That said, it would be really nice if his offense came around soon. And it would be even nicer if he was not looking to create as much off the dribble and was just a bit quicker in his decision making when it came to shot/pass choices, including how and where to move the ball when the initial jumper is not there.

This is stuff that will come with more time and reps, and it’s important to remember Max’s general lack of experience here, but a good game soon would go a long way for him.

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On fire bench group

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In the Lakers win over the Kings, the five-man group of D’Angelo Russell, Dalton Knecht, LeBron, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes was utterly fantastic in both their shifts, with their fourth quarter time together totally turning the game around and putting the Lakers back in control after going down by seven. That group was a +31 in just 9 minutes of game action, outscoring the Kings 37-6 during that stretch.

For the season that group is a +33 in 19 minutes, so they’re “only” a +2 in the 10 other minutes they’ve played together. And while that number pales in comparison to what they did against the Kings, I don’t think it should be ignored that these very early returns are showing a Lakers lineup that is succeeding without Anthony Davis on the floor when he gets his normal rest in the second and fourth quarters.

This is no small thing and, if it can continue, would be a wonderful and much-needed lineup solution for parts of the game in which the Lakers can struggle, particularly on defense. Because while it’s clear this unit is going to make noise offensively, it’s their ability to score that helps set up their half court defense where they have a lot of positional size and a lot athleticism with Bron, Hayes, Rui, and Knecht. This group can switch, they can really get out to the perimeter to contest shots and then they can rebound to push the ball in transition.

Against the Kings, it wasn’t just the insane shot making from Bron that stood out, but it was how often they were able to play in the open court, how LeBron attacking in transition was aided by the spacing those shooters created and how Bron could then leverage that spacing to either get to the rim himself or spray the ball out to them for open shots.

Yes, the sample is small, but that group did serious damage vs. the Kings and showed what type of ceiling they can have when they’re firing on all cylinders.

By Darius Soriano

YouTube Link

The Lakers kicked off the JJ Redick era with a season-opening victory against the Wolves behind a huge night from Anthony Davis.

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On a memorable night highlighted by LeBron James and Bronny making history, the Lakers kept the good vibes going by picking up a 110-103 win over the Wolves. It’s the first win for the Lakers to open the season since 2016-17.

Anthony Davis dominated with 36 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. Rui Hachimura had a strong game, ending with 18 points, five rebounds, a block, two steals and an assist. LeBron James dropped 16 points with five rebounds and four assists.

Austin Reaves grabbed nine rebounds with his 12 points. D’Angelo Russell had five assists and two steals to make up for a poor shooting night. Jaxson Hayes was big off the bench with 10 points, four rebounds and a block.

A quick 3-pointer by Rui started off the offense for Los Angeles. He followed it up with a dunk on Rudy Gobert and blocked him on the other end.

Rui’s intense start was rubbing off on the entire team. Austin had a fantastic assist to LeBron for a dunk as LA’s lead expanded to six.

Minnesota started converting more on their shots and cut the deficit to three. After such a strong start, LA’s energy died down and their shots came up short. At the end of the first, the Wolves took the lead by one.

>Tough last 49 seconds of the 1st for LAL: >- Reid banks a 3 >- LeBron misses at the rim >- DiVincenzo collects own miss and puts it back >- Russell misses open 3 > >As such, Minnesota turns a quarter-long deficit into a 23-22 lead. > >-- Mike Trudell @LakersReporter

Rui’s hot start continued into the second with a quick layup. Both teams started trading baskets and the lead. Minnesota started missing their shots and the Lakers began to heat up, going on a 19-6 run. A huge dunk by Jaxson Hayes off a great assist from Dalton Knecht really woke the crowd up.

The Lakers poured on the offense and took a lead of 14. Minnesota struggled heavily to knock down shots and LA’s lead ballooned to 19. At the four-minute mark, LeBron and Bronny checked in together to make history as the first father-son duo to play in an NBA game.

The Wolves began to slowly creep back into the game with a 7-0 run. After a timeout, LeBron dunked to stop Minnesota’s run. Los Angeles did a great job of stopping the Wolves from getting it too close and led at halftime, 55-42.

>Family Business. > > Twitter link > >-- Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

The Lakers started the second half well, maintaining their lead, grabbing rebounds and playing great defense. Rui’s impressive game continued as he had another dunk with authority.

The Timberwolves slowly tried to creep back into it, cutting the 19-point lead LA had built down to 12. Although the Lakers struggled to connect from behind the arc, their rebounding and defense helped them maintain leads and keep the fight up.

Austin went on a mini 4-0 run to inject some more momentum back into LA, but the Wolves answered with a 7-0 run. Los Angeles maintained a good lead throughout the quarter, but Minnesota crept back into it and started playing better. At the end of the third, the Lakers were up eight.

>AD COMING THROUGH > >Twitter Link > >-- Los Angeles Lakers @Lakers

The final frame opened with two free throws from Naz Reid and, suddenly, the Wolves were extremely close and made it a game again. LeBron started the offense for LA early with an and-one basket. Naz knocked down a three to make it a four-point game.

LA pushed their lead up to eight, showing excellent effort by stopping Minnesota. Jaxson’s efforts off the bench were major for the team as he had a big block and a dunk.

The Wolves made it an eight-point game with 4:32 left. The teams were trading baskets but AD was doing a little of everything, including an impressive one-legged fadeaway. AD kept blocking and rebounding, controlling all aspects of the game.

A three by LeBron put the dagger into the hearts of the Wolves.

Key Takeaways:

The Lakers showed a lot of fight and hustle through their defense and grabbing rebounds. While they had stretches where they struggled, there were a lot of positives to take away from how hard they fought for rebounds.

The Lakers only had seven turnovers all game!!

The threes will be something to keep an eye on all season. They had a rough night from behind the arc, but they had a lot of great looks.

AD and Austin are in prime season form. An aggressive Rui was very nice to see, he is going to be crucial for LA’s success this season.

The Lakers’ next game is on Friday against the Phoenix Suns at 7:00 PM PT.

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James and Bronny James became the first father and son to play in the NBA together Tuesday night during the Los Angeles Lakers' 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 39-year-old superstar and his 20-year-old son played almost 2 1/2 minutes together late in the first half of Bronny's NBA debut. They are also the first father and son to play in the NBA at the same time, let alone on the same team.

LeBron scored 16 points, while Anthony Davis had 36 points and 16 rebounds in a dominant performance for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura added 18 points.

JJ Redick won his head coaching debut for the Lakers, who hired the 15-year NBA veteran for his first coaching job at any level.

Anthony Edwards scored 27 points for the Timberwolves, who are coming off their best season in 20 years.

Julius Randle had 16 points and nine rebounds, and Donte DiVincenzo had 10 points in their Timberwolves debuts after the trade sending Karl-Anthony Towns to New York three weeks ago.

Dalton Knecht scored five points in the Lakers' first-round pick's debut.

By AP

Twitter Link

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It was reported earlier this week that LeBron James was returning to the Lakers on a 2-year, $104 million deal.

Those numbers were always subject to change if needed to help the Lakers avoid the second apron and it looks like James is doing just that.

Shams Charnia of The Athletic reported that his contract has now been adjusted to two years at $101.355 million.

> @ShamsCharania: LeBron James' final two-year deal total, per sources: $101.355 million – almost $3M less than his $104M max, placing Lakers below second apron.

Charania also mentioned that the deal includes a player option and a no-trade clause; James' contract also includes a 15 percent trade kicker.

> @ShamsCharania: While this discount may seem minimal, it gives the Lakers flexibility to make some deals moving forward.

Adding LeBron's contract puts the Lakers at just under the $188.9 million second apron.

If vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka can execute a deal that clears up some salaries, he can create two roster spots and have the flexibility to use the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception.

That kind of money could bring a productive guard or a backup big on the roster to improve the Lakers in marginal but not insignificant ways.

James deserves some credit here for sacrificing and helping the Lakers.

At 39 years old, with the Lakers striking out on players like Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, he could've easily taken the maximum and just played out his contract.

He's thinking of the team first and doing things to help the Lakers compete in the Western Conference. James' end has to be near and instead of squeezing every dollar out of the game, he's taking less to make room for more talent.

The question now becomes, will that sacrifice be worthwhile?

Can Pelinka and the Lakers front office use that flexibility and bring in an impactful player so LeBron and Anthony Davis can have one more legitimate shot at a title?

It's not an easy position to be in, but heavy lies the crown and with the King giving you some room to work with, it's time for Pelinka to get on the phone and cook.

By Edwin Garcia

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Colin Castleton and forwards Blake Hinson and Armel Traore to two-way contracts, it was announced by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Castleton returns for a second season with the Lakers after originally going undrafted and signing a two-way contract out of Florida in 2023. He told us he was hoping to return to the Lakers to continue his development, and now he gets that chance.

The 24-year-old appeared in 16 contests for the Lakers last season, averaging 1.5 points in 3.7 minutes per game. Castleton also played in 12 regular season G League games, averaging 14.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 blocks in 28.6 minutes with the South Bay Lakers.

Hinson and Traore were both undrafted free agents this year that quickly landed with the Lakers on two-way deals.

Hinson averaged 18.5 points per game in 33 outings for the University of Pittsburgh last season, shooting an ACC-best 42.1% from 3-point range. He earned All-ACC First Team honors, ranking second in the conference in 3-point field goals made and third in points per game.

Traore averaged 10.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 33 games (28 starts) last season for ADA Blois of the LNB Élite in his home country of France. He previously played for Metropolitans 92 in 2022-23 and was a teammate of San Antonio Spurs Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama.

Castleton, Hinson and Traore all played for the Lakers in their Summer League opener on Saturday afternoon, flashing their talent despite the loss to the Sacramento Kings.

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Lakers’ Colin Castleton working on 3-point shot?

When Colin Castleton spoke with Lakers Nation about what he has been working on this offseason, he specifically mentioned looking to improve his shooting from outside after not being a threat from beyond the arc so far in his career.

“Yeah, every day. That’s the focal point this summer, that’s the No. 1 thing,” Castleton said. “I feel like I’ve gotten more shots up than I have my whole life, to be honest. Just every single day, working on my shot in the gym with multiple coaches and some of the guys in the front office helping me as well.

“So, just being able to focus on that going into Summer League cause it’s something that we want to do and I want to be able to do in Summer League to be able to showcase that ability that I worked on throughout the whole summer. So, that’s the No. 1 focal point this summer, that and my defense, just little tendencies. But for the most part, that’s the biggest focus I have this whole entire summer.”

By Danial Starkand

Podcast Link

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: LeBron agrees to a new deal.

SEGMENT 2: Was Team James negotiating in good faith, when it comes to his offer to take less?

SEGMENT 3: Bronny gets a contract. More nepotism?

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EPISODE SUMMARY

The inevitable happened on Wednesday, as the Lakers and LeBron James agreed to a two year contract for max (or near max -- getting to that in a moment) money, about $104 million. The second year? A player option. So there's a good chance LeBron and the Lakers are right back here next year.

It means, first and foremost, that the window LeBron opened by offering to take less money in year one so the Lakers could improve the team by acquiring a higher cost player that might require the full midlevel exception, for example, has likely closed. Well, the Lakers haven't been able to make that happen and don't appear to be in position to make it happen before the end of the free agent moratorium on Saturday.

So was LeBron serious when he made the offer? Was it done in good faith? Was it done only with a mind to PR, and trying to manage the fallout of an offseason where, to say the least, the optics could tell a story of a star player getting A LOT of things he wanted? (His preferred coach, his kid on the team, etc.)

Are these things mutually exclusive?

Now the Lakers must go forward with a very constrained roster, one that will be difficult to manipulate without finding trade partners. Which is a tricky thing given the roster construction. They're also full, which gets to the roster spot taken by Bronny James, who signed his deal today. It is, in most ways, similar to the contracts given to most second rounders at this point, save a more generous buyout for Year 3 than some other players have received. On the other hand, the Lakers, realizing the roster crunch they'd be facing, still gave him a guaranteed deal, rather than a 2-way contract. Not all late second round picks would be afforded that luxury. (Many, yes. All, no.)

It's just one reason why the chatter around Bronny isn't likely to dissipate fast, especially if he struggles in Summer League, which kicks off this weekend.

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LOS ANGELES -- Bronny James signed a four-year, $7.9 million contract with the Lakers on Wednesday, a league source told ESPN, reaching his rookie deal on the same day LeBron James agreed to an extension with the team and ensured the first father-son duo in NBA history will play for the purple and gold next season.

Bronny James' contract begins at $1,157,143 in 2024-25 and progresses to $1,955,377 the following year, $2,296,271 in 2026-27 and $2,486,955 for a team option in 2027-28, sources told ESPN.

The Lakers announced Wednesday that they had signed Bronny James and Dalton Knecht, the No. 17 pick in this year's draft, without disclosing terms.

James averaged 4.8 points on 36.6% shooting (26.7% from 3), 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes at USC after undergoing a heart procedure last summer. He said the nearly five-month layoff because of the medical issue affected his development.

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka praised James' mindset and potential as a point-of-attack defender, and new Lakers coach JJ Redick said James, whom Los Angeles selected with the No. 55 pick last week, will be a top priority with the team's revamped player development program.

“We view Bronny as [a] Case Study One because [of] his base level of feel, athleticism, point-of-attack defender, shooting, passing,” Redick said. “There's a lot to like about his game, and as we build out our player development program holistically, he's going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player.”

James and Knecht will make their summer league debuts Saturday in San Francisco against the Sacramento Kings in the California Classic.

The Lakers' roster now stands at 15, the maximum number of players an NBA team can carry.

By Dave McMenamin

ESPN Link

The Lakers finally landed some assistant coaches with head coaching experience, bringing in Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks.

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The Lakers have finally begun adding coaches to their bench. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that Nate McMillain and Scott Brooks will be joining JJ Redick’s staff as top assistants.

> ESPN Sources: The Los Angeles Lakers are hiring Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks as top assistant coaches on JJ Redick’s new staff. Redick gets two longtime head coaches with a combined 1,189 victories to surround him. -@wojespn

Redick and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka have been “completely aligned” with adding former head coaches to the staff and these acquisitions accomplish that.

Brooks has been rumored as a potential assistant coach option for the Lakers since early June and it appears that the Lakers were able to land one of their top targets.

With the addition of Brooks, the Lakers add plenty of coaching experience to Redick’s bench.

He was the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2008-15 and the Washington Wizards from 2016-21. He was previously the assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers, working as an assistant there for three years.

McMillan also has extensive head coaching experience. He had three stints as a head coach, first with the Seattle Supersonics from 2000-05, then the Indiana Pacers from 2016-20 and lastly with the Atlanta Hawks from 2021-23.

Adding these previous head coaches should relieve Lakers fans who have been nervous about the lack of activity in filling out the staff.

It was starting to look like previous head coaches had little interest in joining Redick. That noise only got louder when Dwane Casey reportedly removed his name from consideration for the Lakers coaching job.

Now, the Lakers have two coaches who match the criteria they mentioned they wanted and suddenly, the staff fills out nicely.

With the Lakers expected to be “more involved” with assistant coach hires and financially investing in the staff, more moves are undoubtedly on the horizon.

Other coaches, such as Sam Cassell, Jared Dudley and former Laker Rajon Rando, have been connected to the Lakers and could join Redick’s staff.

If Los Angeles can add a few of these candidates to the organization, Redick will suddenly have one of the most experienced and esteemed benches in the NBA to help him navigate his first year as an NBA coach.

By Edwin Garcia

Silver Screen & Roll Link

With the new season just around the corner, what would we like to see more of in this community?

I'm not quite sure how polls work on Lemmy, but comments work, or I can comment, and we can vote on whatever?

I do appreciate when we get posts from other users and more engagement, but I understand if this community is more of the lurking type.

If this post doesn't get any engagement outside the usual up/downvotes. I'll assume we're good with the usual posting and continue.

This summer has been more about who isn't coming to the Lakers than who is.

Dan Hurley reportedly turned down the Lakers' head coaching offer, Klay Thompson picked Dallas over Los Angeles and now, Dwane Casey is reportedly withdrawing his name from consideration as part of JJ Redick's staff.

Casey has been coaching in the NBA for over 30 years and was the head coach of the Detroit Pistons from 2018-23.

His coaching pedigree perfectly matched what vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and Redick mentioned as their ideal assistant during Redick's introductory press conference.

Another potential assistant is also off the board, with Terry Stotts reportedly coaching with the Golden State Warriors next year. It's starting to look harder and harder for the Lakers to fulfill their promise of head coaching experience on the bench.

This has to be concerning, given that Redick is currently the only coach on the Lakers' staff and the number of coaches available for hire is getting smaller by the day.

The offseason may be long, but building out the staff quickly is crucial. Free agents want to know who they will be playing for besides Redick and the Lakers already have Summer League basketball looming, making it that much harder to coach the young guys and build out the staff.

Redick confirmed on Tuesday that Dane Johnson would be the head coach of the Lakers during Summer League action and that Bronny James and Dalton Knecht will play in both the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League.

With the Lakers reportedly willing to financially invest in assistants, it begs the question, why are coaches choosing not to come here?

If the Lakers fail to hire the caliber of assistants they mentioned, it will appear that this is not an alluring job or franchise to be associated with at the moment.

That might seem unfair or exaggerated, but perception quickly becomes reality in the NBA.

For Pelinka and the Lakers' sake, they need to start landing some of the personnel they've been seeking.

By Edwin Garcia

James will have a player option next summer and a no-trade clause as part of his new two-year, $104M maximum deal with the Lakers, sources said.

X Link

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Christie — 35th pick in the 2022 draft — has shown promise as a future LA rotation player.

Ahead of signing likely his last contract in the NBA, LeBron James looks set to really help out the Lakers. After LeBron opted out of his contract earlier on Saturday, his agent, Rich Paul, spoke to Dave McMenamin of ESPN and revealed that he is open to taking a discount on his next deal to open up the full mid-level exception for the Lakers.

If LA cannot find an impact player to sign for the full MLE that would be created by James taking a paycut, James will seek the max.

There can only be so much patience on James' part: Team USA camp begins a week from today in Las Vegas and he needs a deal before taking the court https://t.co/lSkfup7YQJ — Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 29, 2024

In his article, McMenamin elaborated that players who fit this archetype would be quality veterans with something to prove, like Jonas Valančiūnas or a shooter like Klay Thompson, who appears to be on his way out of Golden State.

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.

LeBron has consistently taken the max throughout his career, except on his first contract with the Miami Heat in 2010. Since then, he’s taken the max and no team associated with the King has ever blinked. Even now, the Lakers were reportedly eager to re-sign LeBron at the max.

If he takes less money, however, it opens up the chance to sign a player on the full mid-level exception, which is approximately $12.9 million.

That kind of salary could land a quality starter and put the Lakers back into contention in the Western Conference.

This is the kind of scenario that was unfathomable just a week ago, when it seemed inevitable that LeBron would take the max and the Lakers wouldn’t have the cap space to acquire any potential free agents on the market.

LeBron is more than willing to take the max and with the Team USA camp and his son likely playing in Summer League, if he’s still a free agent, he’ll have to deal with a media circus and this contract situation will undoubtedly create tension.

There’s no need for that if he wants to remain a Laker.

So, if vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka has a deal he can get done, then now is the time to do it and show that he can help build a contender here in Los Angeles.