The Los Angeles Lakers have made it clear they are closely watching their pockets for the next few seasons, looking to properly pivot to the Luka Doncic timeline. There would be no better gift for them than LeBron James choosing to remain with the organization on a discounted rate.
LeBron picked up his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 NBA season ahead of this year’s free agency. In doing so, James reaffirmed his spot atop a prestigious list that also involves a lot of pocket watching.
Top 5 NBA players by career earnings:
1 LeBron James – $583.9M
2 Steph Curry – $535.8M
3 Devin Booker – $534M
4 Paul George – $518.7M
5 Joel Embiid – $514.8M
James continues to lead the list of highest career earners in NBA history. As is the case with most lists that LeBron towers over, the gap for that top spot is pretty comfortable.
The biggest subject of a lot of NBA whispers following James locking in for 2025-26 was Rich Paul outwardly expressing his desire to continue competing for championships until his career is over. One of the best ways the all-time great can do that is by granting the Lakers’ biggest wish.
LeBron James pay cut would position the Lakers like no other NBA team
The subject of James offering a lighter price for his services has been discussed in NBA circles, but has not quite made its way to reality just yet. If it did, and if the Lakers receive that courtesy, their championship window would burst open.
Rob Pelinka has openly admitted the current approach of remaining flexible was a lot to do with staying opportunistic for when the right moves come along. The Lakers need a new co-star for Doncic at some point, after all.
However, they also have their own in-house financial problems. The Austin Reaves dilemma is the most obvious. The Lakers will need to give Reaves a substantial raise in the summer of 2026 or risk seeing him walk away for nothing.
There are a lot of challenges facing the Lakers in the short-term due to the long list of tasks piling up on their agenda. James graciously allowing them more flexibility to pursue free agents, pay Reaves, etc. would offer the bargain of a lifetime.
How big of a pay cut would it need to be?
In the most idealistic of scenarios, James taking the minimum would open up the Lakers’ maneuverability like nothing else. Los Angeles would only have Doncic, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jake LaRavia, and Adou Thiero as fully guaranteed money on the books when the 2026 offseason arrives.
Contract options for Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, Dalton Knecht, and a contract for Bronny James that is not fully guaranteed can quickly alter that. However, the Lakers could project to have around $83 million available in the most cost-cutting scenario, according to Spotrac.
Only having to use a small portion of that on James would allow the Lakers to fill out the rest of the roster with the type of pieces he and Doncic would need for a contender. For LeBron, that could mean riding off into the Los Angeles sunset with a title before retirement calls his name.
