The Los Angeles Lakers need both the desire and some fancy accounting to bring LeBron James back next season, and at least one team insider believes the franchise will ultimately get there.
Austin Reaves figures to be the Lakers’ top priority this offseason, as he is almost certain to opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. Superstar Luka Doncic, around whom Los Angeles will build its team for the next several years, has been explicit that he wants Reaves back by his side for the longterm.
After handling Reaves’ situation, the Lakers must consider how to acquire a rim-protecting big man who can erase the lack of defense presented by a Doncic-Reaves backcourt and also serve as a lob threat alongside Doncic on offense.
Ideally, L.A. would also staff the roster with long, defensively versatile wings who double as accurate shooters from behind the 3-point line. That personnel necessity lends itself to the notion that the Lakers probably want to extend power forward Rui Hachimura who is also headed to free agency later this summer.
Those are potentially all priorities that will take precedent over bringing back James for his age-42 campaign. Even still, Brad Taylor of the Los Angeles Times predicted on Thursday, June 4 that not only will James return to L.A. in 2026-27, but that he will get a meaningful payday and some quality perks on a multiyear contract.
“I’m gonna throw this out there: Lebron comes back on a two year deal at $25M per season with a player option and a no trade clause,” Turner said.
LeBron James Will Likely Have to Take Less Than His True Value to Remain With Lakers
GettyLeBron James of the Los Angles Lakers.
Bobby Marks of ESPN wrote last month that while several executives around the league still consider James a max player after the year he put together in 2025-26, plus his heroics in the first round of the playoffs, it will prove difficult for any contenders to pay him max money and also legitimately contend for a championship.
Marks suggested Los Angeles offer James $30 million on a one-year deal with a no-trade clause.
“A $30 million salary would allow the Lakers to re-sign Luke Kennard and Rui Hachimura and use the full $15 million non-tax midlevel exception,” Marks wrote. “The Lakers could also act as a cap-space team but without Hachimura and Kennard. They would then have $20 million in room plus the $9.4 million room exception.”
Lakers Can Keep LeBron James, Luka Doncic & Austin Reaves Together Next Season, Still Add to Roster
GettyAustin Reaves (left), Luka Doncic and LeBron James (right) of the Los Angeles Lakers.
That paradigm would allow the Lakers to bring back Reaves on a substantial extension, though one short of his all-out max of approximately $241 million over five years. It would also reunite James with Reaves and Doncic — a trio that found real chemistry and success down the stretch of the regular season after a lot of mixing and matching.
Hachimura’s defense and shooting on the wing, and Kennard’s 3-point expertise at the guard position, which mattered significantly to the Lakers during the second half of the year and through the playoffs after they traded for him at the mid-season deadline, would also both be back.
L.A. would then have the full midlevel exception of $15 million to add the center Doncic needs. Toss in wing Jake LaRavia and potentially guard Marcus Smart and/or center DeAndre Ayton, both of whom have player options on their deals in 2026-27, and that’s essentially the Lakers’ nine-deep roster — with Bronny James perhaps functioning as the 10th man.
Lakers Must Consider Elite Talent in West During Roster Reconstruction
GettySan Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama.
But that leaves two problems. The first is that another recent report from Turner indicate Reaves may not accept anything less than the max if he stays in Los Angeles.
“Based on what I understand, Austin wants the max,” Turner said. “Is he willing to give the Lakers a hometown [discount]? I’m not so sure about that.”
Reaves can get up to $178 million over four years if he goes elsewhere in free agency, though the options are limited to the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, and perhaps nowhere else.
The second problem is that the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Lakers out of the playoffs in Round 2 before falling short of the NBA Finals themselves.
Los Angeles didn’t have Doncic, but even with him during the year, the Lakers looked a far cry short of the competition they will face in Oklahoma City and the San Antonio Spurs in the West over the next decade or so.
Running it back in 2026-27, perhaps plus a better option at center and without Smart in the backcourt, doesn’t read like a solution to toppling the ascending powerhouse franchises in the conference.
And that doesn’t even take into account the New York Knicks, currently up 1-0 over the Spurs and three games shy of a title, or the Boston Celtics, the 2024 champions with two of the top 10 players in the league in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who are also looking to level up the roster this summer.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Insider Predicts Huge News for Lakers on LeBron James’ Free Agency appeared first on HEAVY.