LeBron James agrees to four-year, $154 million deal with Lakers – NBA
LeBron James is going to the Lakers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
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The Decision 3.0 has been made and LeBron James is taking his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers. James has agreed to a four-year, $154 million deal with the team Sunday, according to Klutch Sports.
The 33-year-old James is coming off a season in which he averaged 27.5 points per game with the Cleveland Cavaliers. James led Cleveland to the NBA Finals, but lost to the Golden State Warriors in four games.
Why did James sign with the Lakers?
The Lakers had a large amount of cap space to work with. The team was projected to have a little under $50 million to hand out. That put them in the running to sign not just James, but potentially a few other strong players.
The team can pair James — and whoever else might be coming — with Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma.
In the end, James believed it was the right situation for him. It also helps that the Lakers are one of the game’s premier franchises.
How much money will LeBron James make with the Lakers?
James’ four-year, $154 million contract will net him over $35 million each season, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.
Bobby Marks✔@BobbyMarks42Here is the breakdown for the LeBron James contract with the Los Angeles Lakers: $35.65M, $37.43M, $39.21M and $41M. He is not eligible for a no trade clause. http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-41022352-4 …
James will make $25.65 million next season. That number will slowly rise over the course of the contract. In his final season with the club, James will make $41 million. He is also not eligible for a no-trade clause.
Can the Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors?
Many have already wondered what the NBA Finals might look like without James taking on the Warriors every year. Now that he’s in Los Angeles, that’s impossible. The best the two teams can do is meet in the Western Conference Finals.
Given how deep the Warriors are, James is going to have a tough task going through them to get to the Finals again. But the Lakers still have plenty of cap space after signing James, and could still add more talent.
The team didn’t wait long to announce their next move. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope agreed to a one-year, $12 million deal with Los Angeles, according to our own Shams Charania.
LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant
With James signing in Los Angeles, that should invite plenty of agonizing debates regarding which player is better: LeBron James or Kobe Bryant.
We won’t get into that here, but we assume a number of Lakers fans are already deleting some of their old tweets trashing James.
Bryant isn’t willing to get into that right now. His initial reaction to the move was extremely positive.
Ramona Shelburne✔@ramonashelburneKobe Bryant will have a lot to say about LeBron in due time. For now, he says in all caps, “I LOVE IT.”
LeBron James is leaving Cleveland
Many expected LeBron James would leave the Cavaliers. He thanked Cavaliers fans in an Instagram post, saying the city will always be his home.
Yahoo Sports NBA✔@YahooSportsNBALeBron left a thank you message for Cavs fans on his IG story.
: kingjames | Instagram
In his time with the Cavs, James managed to bring a championship to Cleveland. Fans reacted angrily the first time he left the team in free agency. There might be far fewer burned jerseys this time around.
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Basketball: LeBron James to join NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers in four-year, $210 million deal
The move means LeBron James (pictured) will now join one of the NBA’s most iconic clubs, adding to the legacy of such legends as Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson. PHOTO: AFP
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LOS ANGELES (AFP) – LeBron James is to join the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-year, US$154 million (S$210 million) deal, his agents said on Sunday (July 1), ending months of frenzied speculation about the basketball superstar’s next career move.
The blockbuster deal means the four-time National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player – who has played in the past eight NBA Finals – will now join one of the league’s most iconic clubs, adding to the legacy of such legends as Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson.
“LeBron James, four time NBA MVP, three-time NBA finals MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medallist, has agreed to a four-year, US$154 million contract with he Los Angeles Lakers,” James’ management company Klutch Sports Group said in a statement.
James is considered a rival of retired Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan for the title of greatest player in NBA history.
However, he had endured frustration with the Cleveland Cavaliers, culminating in this season’s clean sweep defeat by the Golden State Warriors in last month’s NBA Finals.
James and the Cavaliers had been beaten in three out of four NBA Finals by the Warriors since 2015.
James, who has a home and production company in Los Angeles, joins a team with plenty of money to spend under the NBA salary cap and a desire to rebuild into a championship team after years of struggles.
The Cavaliers also tried to keep James, reportedly being on the phone with him seconds after midnight on Sunday as the free agency period opened.
The Philadelphia 76ers, whose young star Ben Simmons has the same agent as James, were also in the hunt with James, hoping to build a potential triple threat alongside the Australian and Cameroon forward Joel Embiid.
James had left Cleveland in 2010 for the Miami Heat, where he reached the NBA Finals four times, going 2-2, before departing for the Cavaliers, vowing to bring a title to Cleveland, his home region, having grown up in nearby Akron.
That mission was accomplished when the Cavaliers won the 2016 crown with James in the starring role.
But the Warriors obtained Kevin Durant after that loss and Golden State have gone 8-1 against the Cavs in the two NBA Finals since. PUBLISHED / 1 HOUR AGO
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