How LeBron James' New Max Contract Impacts the Lakers' Offseason Plans. Plus, Bronny's deal!
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- Опубликовано: 2 июл 2024
- 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.
HOSTS: Andy and Brian KamenetzkySEGMENT 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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Seeing a lot of comments about how the Lakers should have pursued Jonas Valanciunas, who ended up signing with Washington for a shade below the MLE.
I can't speak with any knowledge about how hard the Lakers went after Valanciunas, and there are certainly worse uses of an MLE, but I question how appealing the Lakers would be *to him.* (Remember, JV gets a vote.) On a team where AD will/should get the bulk of his minutes at center, there's a cap to JV's PT and role. He would rarely, if ever, close games. There's not even a clear path to 20-ish minutes per game. Were I him, the Wizards situation, even with that crappy roster, would be more appealing if I care about playing. Plus, the odds of him finishing that deal in D.C. strike me as pretty low. I imagine he'll get flipped to a contender at some point down the line, which he's likely counting on.
Again, I have no insight into how this actually went down, but for what it's worth...
AK
AK... it seems like everybody wants to low-key excuse Rob with statements like "it takes two to tango" or "JV had to want to come to LA".... at some point Rob has to make something impressive happen. He/they told us at the trade deadline that they decided to pass on deals because this summer they'd be equipped with assets to make big moves. Summers here and now its the same story /excuse of 'it takes 2 to tango'. Seems like he can only make deals when he has to give Everything up and essentially no real negotiations are needed. When is he gonna get creative in a trade, or win a negotiation, or "woo" a free agent? Smh (Not a shot at you just seems like I keep hearing that everywhere)(oh and Buddy Heild is gone now lol)
@@TK_360 I'm not looking to make excuses for Rob at all. We've said on many shows, this is your job, figure it out. I'm just pointing out why the Lakers might not have been a great option from Valanciunas' perspective. It's gotta be appealing to the player, and were I him, particularly if I'm prioritizing my role/PT, I wouldn't be necessarily all that excited about a team with one of the best centers in the league on the roster. It puts an obvious cap on his minutes. That's all.
But you're right. At some point, fans get sick of hearing about deals not being there, or "you can't buy a house that's not for sale," or we're gonna be aggressive at (pick a time later). If nothing else, Rob needs to get better at the words he uses while spinning, because they're growing less and less convincing.
Appreciate you watching.
AK
@LockedOnLakers No doubt. As always we appreciate the 🔥 content!
@@TK_360 Thanks! Enjoy your holiday! AK
JV is slow and over the hill. Excellent career up until this point. But he's on the Wizards now for a nice stack of cash, because the Wizards stink and don't care if they lose. Ping pong D.C.
Valencunas was very achievable please hold Pelinka accountable for his blatant failure. Klay wouldn’t even answer his phone call but he waited around for him anyway.
Pelinka is a failure and these dudes just don't like LeBron it's hilarious Andy will probably come in here and defend Jeanie and pelinka suddenly LeBron is at fault for offering to take less money
💯
Not only was he achievable, he was also the best name on the list for addressing what THIS team needs.
People wouldn't be so down on Russell if they actually paid attention to why we are really losing games
Your third or fourth player should be able to have off nights yet. You still pull out victories
We lose because we give up too many second Chance points and we rarely get any of our own
Rebounding is the problem not DLO
@@LN-Lifer Dlo and Austin off nights hurt so much bc they can’t defend. Gabe is too small. Had we gotten a center for the MLE we could make smaller moves to improve the backcourts defense
JJ made two excellent assistant coaching choices with McMillan and Brooks.Smarter coaching will add 5 more wins... remember it took Ham 50games to start Rui over Prince.
Reddick's replacements when things go south.😂
Rob Pelinka failed
Noo...it's your blindness to the damage LeBron's presence is. Nobody wants to play with LeBron James and be the scapegoat
I hate him
NO, NO, NO TO KYLE KUZMA
The Lonzo Kuzma Hart summer league team was so fun to watch
if you want to see a Blazer fan cry, just say Josh Hart. Portland traded him midseason just to save money, and have only won about 25 of 120 games since. (.170 W/L record)
They messed up by giving Reddish and Hayes options … Once again another self inflicted wounds
Come on guys-you don't really need to cover for this move of Lebron's son. Enough already. Call it what it is.
The fact that they had to draft and sign Bronny should be reason enough for LeBron to take a pay cut. SMH
They didn't have to do shit
lol, the 55th pick had little to do with winning and/or loosing at least this year and next year. Lakers management is just not good and haven’t been good since Dr. Buss died.
@@mistermatsuda Bronny jersey sales will outsell with the younger fans...Lakers fans have no since of business
Imagine being the player in the league responsible for the most revenue easily.. and you’re team is more upset at you taking a 2 year max then their dumb ass front office giving every subpar player a player option for 10 years.
The majority of the money comes from the TV contract. With or without Lebron. Also they have always sold out in ticket sales always
@@deddiev1718 Lakers was an afterthought for yrs before LeBron...I remember Barkley asking Ernie why the hell are we showing Laker highlights and everyone broke out laughing.
No man is above criticism. I see nothing but Pelinka and front office criticism. It's a different fan base and expectation...title or bust organization is rare.
It means...they are stuck with a mediocre roster that lost Prince, but added two rookies (who will likely have very little impact on their W/L totals). Let the struggle to make that Play-in begin!
Nah they’ll be fine as long as the head coach doesn’t go rogue and mess with the starting lineups
@@Halfricanmj24 you mean the rookie head coach whose last experience on the job involved teaching fundamentals to 10 year olds?
@@mattosso7676 Lakers were 47and35 this season...that was 4 games off from 4th place with Vando Gabe and Wood hurt. Prince had the worst plus minas on the team yet it took Ham 50 games to start Rui over him. Ham failed miserablely and it will show if Bron and AD can stay healthy.
@@Halfricanmj24 DAL. OKC. MIN, DEN, GS, PHX and MEM are all better than the Lakers.
Lakers are in the next tier with the Clippers, and NO. Both lost key players, they also added enough pieces to overcome those losses. (Clips lost PG13, but added Batum and Bamba. And NO lost Valanciunas, but added Murray)
HOU is the sleeper in the West. They kept their young roster intact and added Griffin and drafted Shepperd.
So the only teams I would say the Lakers are clearly better than right now are SA, POR, UTAH and MAYBE Houston.(who they split with last season)
So it's likely the Lakers will finish 7th or 8th in the West. Again. And end up in the Play-In. Again.
@@logicalbrother Can't use injuries as an excuse. Every team deals with them. Look at MEM. They were on the rise and then they were ravaged with injuries. Only ONE player on MEM played more than 50 games. IF healthy, Lakers will end up the 7th or 8th seed again. And will be in the Play-in. Again. If anything happens to Lebron or AD, they will miss the Play-in entirely..
Val wasn't going to be super difficult to get
But as far as I know we didn't try and what's crazy. It's his name was the best on that list for this team
The only issue with Bronny getting a guaranteed contract is that the roster is now full. The bigger problem is that Pelinka gave Jax, Wood and Cam player options and now they take three roster spots.
Thanks Andy for your candor about bronny/reddick projection. It seems like Brian was sugarcoating so he can get a interview with reddick one day. I wish Brian didn't straddle the fence so much
I think we just have to wait until trade deadline now
that worked amazing in 2022/23. The Lakers went from below .500 to the WCF. Sometimes grabbing players from terrible teams inspires them. Look how much PJ Washington & Gafford helped the Mavs this year. Both were trade deadline acquisitions
Is the roster as is really that bad? I think they’re top 4 in the west as currently constructed
Agree assuming few injuries.
@@amyglasband8414if AD or Bron go down their toast
@@socalgolf9978 If Joker or Murray go down...if Tatum or Brown ...if Luka Kyrie...if Embiid Maxie...if if if if. That applies to any team smart guy
I'm up here in Portland watching the Blazers lose by 60. They lost every game for an entire month. And the fans up here actually believe they have a playoff team. That's BAD, real bad. The Lakers are still packed with legit talent, not fake stuff just to entice a delusional fanbase. LA will be fine next season. Maybe a few mid-summer or trade deadline moves will excel the team even further.
@@metal--babble346 roster isn’t that bad but not good enough for the west
Its plausible after the first few free agents LeBron was willing to take a cut for were of lt the board, the front office and LeBron got together and decided to give him his money this year, then next year with a better free agency class try to have him give them more flexibility and try to get a near max/room exception.
I'm not too concerned with just running it back with draft capital, since i honestly thought D'Lo would walk and we would've been substantially worse next season than last.
Let's see what some continuity and improved offensive coaching can do for this roster, hope that Christie and Knecht make losing Taurean a wash, and get some actual minutes from vando and gabe.
Its championship or bust, so if we couldn't move the needle yet keep the powder dry!
Such a weird era in Lakers history. It's like, do you view LeBron as a great mercenary, or an all-time great Laker, who you want to see play as long as possible? I'm interested to see if LeBron is willing to sacrifice minutes and stats, if it helps other players step up.
Lebron single handedly destroyed the Lakers. we have no coaching experience. we have a second round draft pick with the least talent to ever be drafted in the second round and we have a 40-year-old dude that insisted on taking the max and not leaving any salary cap room for the team to improve in any way shape or form. 😢
Fair point and I agree with some of your read as well Andy. Just glad you didn't do it in a douchey way.
Um… thanks? AK
The Lebron era hasn't brought anything memorable to this team, maybe financially and keeping them relevant with dramas and things like that, but other than that no glory, not a single nba championship and please don't give me that bubble bullshit that's rather embarrassing. .
If we could just get under the 2nd apron...find a deal to trade D'lo for a big then find a way to sign Tyus Jones, i think we can roll with that...derozan isnt gonna take a low deal and Trent can get more from another team
The relevant question with respect to BJ is, would he be on the Lakers without LBJ? Hard no. It’s irrelevant if he worked hard, thousands of prospects work hard and never make it to the NBA. Some that don’t make it, might be (much) better than BJ.
Sure. And that's why I don't mind them taking Bronny, but everyone just needs to be honest about this in ways that are fair and respectful. Now it's up to Bronny to cash in on being prioritized that way. If he proves worthy of that selection (however one would define "worthy" with a 55th pick, who generally don't make it in the league anyway), then everyone's fine. AK
How could they not know last year that these contracts this year would hurt them?
Who in their right mind gives player options to guys who have underperformed their entire careers and their plane to save their butts?
You can't say they didn't know it if all of Us did
Pelinka copy & pasted bad GM world salad off all the other bad GM press conferences. He's gotta step up or ship out.
Hot seat Pelinka....time to change things up afrer the farewell retirement tour for Bron
Andy need to chill on the drugs 😂 Bro saying DLO was the best Laker during the play in is WILD 😂😂😂 That was easily AD U gotta relax
No, in that one play-in game, DLo actually was the best Laker. LeBron and AD were both kinda off that night. They’re both still better than DLo overall, by a wide margin. It happens. AK
D-Lo is the king of Play in games. He was a big reason the Pat Bev Wolves made the playoffs in 2022
@@LockedOnLakersFunny how Lebron and AD suddenly had lower than standard games with Denver waiting😏...yet playoff Dlo was ready to go to war🥱.
In my Lakers group chat we've come to the conclusion health is wealth if we'd been healthy that Denver series would look different...I think AD & Bron playing summer ball is a mistake when they should be rehabbing 82 games will more than likely have 1 if not both of them out for an amount of time add on summer ball & it's a forgone conclusion
I commend Andy on the Jonas signing away by Wizards take, good points. The Bronny defense though is unnecessary as LeBron is doing the NBA a favor, much like he did with the In Season Tourney last year. Bron is bigger to the NBA than to the Lakers, he has been the undisputed face of the league for 20 years and keeps showing up to better not just his team, but the league. The moment he suits up with Bronny the ratings will go thru the roof on all platforms. The NBA wants it, Lakers want it and Bron wants it so the casuals need to pipe down. Now a Bonus point, please go check around the pods most feel Max Christie getting 32 million is more surprising, ie Jeff Teague podcast 520… also reason Prince got 5 million and not minimum with option is because he took all his money upfront to join lakers, others took the year with option. He was a minimum guy trying to bust out now he took the minimum with Milwaukee to try again to bust out like a Derrick Jones or Malik Monk.
Whose fault was it to give three minimum player options to fill up spots?? He(Pelinka) continues to be terrible around the margines 😅 but no one what’s to talk about that!
@@allanporter3779 Pretty sure we talked about it in this show. We’ve certainly talked about it a lot this week, at the very least. AK
Is Looney available?
Just keep D’Angelo Russell for now.
Thank You without DLo they don’t even make the playoffs!
Russell, Cam or Wood and a First for a quality big. Resign Spencer D. Problem solved. Russell has the needed salary. Lakers can't move Russell without adding the Draft pick. Bite the bullet now.
Dinwiddie is done. I dunno what happened. He lost a step. The Lakers need wheels, not duds.
@@metal--babble346 Russell is the point, not Dinwiddie. Besides the Delo salary and need for a big man, the Lakes have other guards they want to play. I only suggested Spence because he wants to be in LA and will play for Minimum.
Back for one request, hope I speak it into existence. Please Lakers trade DLo, Woods, Max Lewis plus 1 pick to get Brook Lopez, it saves the off season and opens up roster spots for next moves. Yes he is old, but go all in for two years to win it all and he should have enough to give you those two years at a decent level. Give up the pick for God sake, other teams are willing to give up picks for guys like Gafford to fill that hole at the 5, Lopez is still "today" better than Gafford, just do it!
Andy k. Why can't it just be. Hey I really want to win. They said the picks up for grab so I'll show them I'm down for anything to win. Lebron isn't the gm. He said rebuild the roster. We still haven't mad any moves it's Thursday. When we gonna stop tryna think for lebron. An maybe keep that same energy for Rob. Maybe Rob drafted bronny to not do anything because he knew lebron would resign.lets see will the media be LOUD for Rob job like they was for Ham,Luke,Frank etc.
If you don’t think I “keep that same energy for Rob,” you must be new here. AK
@LockedOnLakers we gonna see will yall media members keep that same energy. Funny how the coach being tired can get real loud. But not for robs job.Yall control narratives. An not once has it been pressure on robs Job. NOT LIKE frank getting fired after a win. Not like Ham or Luke. Just haven't seen it trending for robs job.
@LockedOnLakers when yall gonna get loud for robs Job then? Like for Frank getting fired at podium. Like luke,Ham?We heard everywhere about there Jobs. Why haven't yall started that yet?That's what I mean keep the same energy.
@@theposterking3553 We've said on many, MANY shows that Jeanie would be smart to either replace Rob or bring in someone else to operate as more or less his equal, and have criticized Jeanie for prioritizing personal relationships/comfort over professional acumen in building out her front office. We've been making this point for years. Seriously, I ask, are you new here? AK
@LockedOnLakers I understand. I see yall on spectrum also. Never seen a replace Rob up there. We gonna see. Because if no change comes. Ad will ask out. Bob Myers available
A Trade is happenin' SOON...very Soon! No Superstar/Star, but a DEFINITE upgrade and Top 4 in the West aint too bad lol 😏😏😉
dont sleep on knecht
that dude can ball. Steal of the draft. He should lead the rookie class in all kinds of crafty stats.
"LeBron will take less money to help the Lakers." That weirdo Woj even suggested a -20 million number. LBJ is still one of the best players in the NBA. Why would LA float salary cut rumors? It's disrespectful, I don't get it. I guess the Lakers just want to steal NBA headlines this offseason.
Farewell retirement tour....
JJ is a born liar. He lied about the 80’s and 90’s basketball joked about the 60’s. He is the perfect front man for Lebron and Klutch false narratives
he's perfect for LA. He can fight off snooty reporters when the Lakers lose tough ballgames.
Lebron holding the lakers hostage
Clown show today defending pelinka and shifting the narrative to "lebron wasnt realistic with the options he provided and ultimately he was just looking for good pr" is objectively hilarious especially when jovan said verbatim that lebron was open to several other options including jonas valanciunas who signed for less than the mid level????
Like it's really convenient AK only mentioned players like harden klay and derozan when jonas was one of the original 3 that was mentioned in the woj report and jovan even said it wasnt limited to those players just players similar to them.
Nice narrative shift today AK u even have brian eating it up
I completely disagreed with the idea the list was limited to three or four names. And said so a couple times. BK
1) Valanciunas IS one of the names I had included since he was on the original reported list from Woj and others. 2) Valanciunas, in my opinion and perhaps even HIS opinion (assuming he was pursued by the Lakers), doesn't really make sense on a team where AD will/should get the bulk of his minutes at center. That puts a cap on JV's playing time and role, which is likely better with the Wizards, crappy a team as they may be. (And as I said in earlier shows, I'm guessing he'll get moved before that deal ends. I imagine Washington sees him more as a future asset than a current player.) 3) At no point in this show did we "defend Pelinka" to begin with. AK
There's an end game in play here, Lebron wants to buy the Lakers and what better way to do that than by first destroying its value and then buying it it sounds crazy now but watch this space
Lebron would probably be a better owner than the Buss family at this point
Then he will learn the hard way you can’t always buy a ring as an owner .
lol You guys are so wrong. Rich Paul never said LeBron willing to give up 1M salary. He already give Rob a chance if he can do his job properly and then give up 20M money. What’s the point he give up any money when Rob can’t even do his job? Just let us be above second APRON team. Nothing need to change.
Woj reported that Bron would consider taking a small pay cut in order to get the team under the second apron. Can’t imagine Woj just made that up. That does not mean Bron will actually do that, but someone very close to Bron (RP) told Woj he would. Not sure why Kam brothers would ignore that reporting, or reject it out of hand.
And the point of Bron taking a million less is to open up flexibility offered to non-second-apron teams.
Bro stfuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. Woj said it this morning, woj gets his intro from rich Paul. Shut yo ass up
Plus you can’t be over the second apron you will lose ur future first round pick as a penalty for being over. U dumbass little kids be saying anything. That whole comment sounded like you have half a brain smh
@@westrueblood8178consider does not mean he will do that. Unless Rob promises to make a meaningful trade, that’s no point to paycut for nothing change.
Dog n pony show
Hey Andy, I got a new nickname for Bronny.... Bronny James Dio
And if he becomes a great 3 point shooter we can morph the name to Bronny James Three-o
I commend Andy on the Jonas signing away by Wizards take, good points. The Bronny defense though is unnecessary as LeBron is doing the NBA a favor, much like he did with the In Season Tourney last year. Bron is bigger to the NBA than to the Lakers, he has been the undisputed face of the league for 20 years and keeps showing up to better not just his team, but the league. The moment he suits up with Bronny the ratings will go thru the roof on all platforms. The NBA wants it, Lakers want it and Bron wants it so the casuals need to pipe down. Now a Bonus point, please go check around the pods most feel Max Christie getting 32 million is more egregious, ie Jeff Teague podcast 520… also reason Prince got 5 million and not minimum with option is because he took all his money upfront to join lakers, others took the year with option. He was a minimum guy trying to bust out now he took the minimum with Milwaukee to try again to bust out like a Derrick Jones or Malik Monk.