The Los Angeles Lakers’ desire to bring back LeBron James will be put to the test this offseason. For right now, the Lakers are saying all the right things.
They appear willing to sign the 21-year veteran to any contract he wants.
They’re rumored to have strong interest in hiring his buddy, JJ Redick, as their new head coach. They’ve even shown interest in drafting his eldest son, Bronny.
Lakers Interview Bronny James
“In terms of the draft, the Lakers seem like they’ll be the draft floor for Bronny James at pick (No.) 55, a player the team conducted an interview with in Chicago,” reports Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.
Adding that the 19-year-old “undeniably boosted his stock in Chicago with strong interviews, impressive athletic testing and strong play in a scrimmage on Wednesday,” it appears that Bronny is gaining legitimate traction ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft.
As he expresses a desire to step out of his father’s shadow, L.A.’s interest in him might be one-sided. However, given his situation, he’d likely be happy to just get drafted anywhere. In addition, if LeBron re-signs with the Lakers, he can continue to get plenty of hands-on training from arguably the greatest player of all-time.
There Will Be Other Suitors
Of course, with the No. 17 and No. 55 picks, L.A. isn’t in an ideal position to draft James. A polarizing prospect, he’s probably a late first-round pick at best right now. Furthermore, multiple teams could target him with the same intent as the Lakers.
One such team appears to be the Utah Jazz, who have the No. 10, No. 29, No. 32 picks in the draft. This gives them a much better shot at actually getting James. If they can free up at least $50 million in cap space this offseason, they’re a dark horse destination for the King.
Several Contenders Are Looming
The New York Knicks (No. 24, No. 25, No. 38), Milwaukee Bucks (No. 23, No. 33), Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 27, No. 37), Cleveland Cavaliers (No. 20), and Philadelphia 76ers (No. 41) also have picks that would allow them to draft James.
All contenders, the idea that LeBron would want to sign with them isn’t far-fetched.
Indeed, James’ interest in signing with the Knicks back in 2010 is well-known. This season, the 39-year-old proclaimed that Madison Square Garden is his favorite arena to play in. Given the New York market, it’s more or less the East Coast version of Los Angeles.
Weather aside.
The Knicks, like the Bucks or Wolves would have to clear a considerable amount of cap space to sign James. If that’s not feasible, they may be able to acquire him in a sign-and-trade. However, that requires cooperation from a team that wants to keep him. As the most recent CBA is more restrictive for teams with high payrolls, it would also limit their roster-building moves from there on out.
To that point, the Sixers are the only one of the aforementioned teams currently projected to have the cap space necessary to sign James to a max contract this offseason. They also have an All-Star guard in Tyrese Maxey and MVP winner in Joel Embiid. James seems particularly fond of Maxey, whom he’s praised on social media and in podcasts.
JJ Redick and LeBron James had a lot of great things to say about Tyrese Maxey in this clip.
“That moth******er does not get tired.” pic.twitter.com/vhwmJqhyPv
— Cats Coverage (@Cats_Coverage) May 16, 2024
Though that could merely be coincidental, few things are with LeBron.
