Lakers' LeBron James Contract Plans Predicted

The Los Angeles Lakers will have a lot on their plate this summer. One of the many things they will have on their plate is whether or not Lakers superstar LeBron James will stick around for what could be his 23rd season in the league. 

As things stand, James is in limbo regarding his future. He has yet to decide whether he will play or hang up his sneakers. Although all signs point to James playing at least one more season, nothing is set in stone. 

In the meantime, everyone has to wait and see what the 40-year-old superstar will do. In the meantime, Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report predicted what James' contract will look like next season.

Buckley predicts that James will opt out and sign back with the Lakers. 

"Look for James to give himself a bit of wiggle room, then, by declining his option and re-signing with the Lakers on a two-year, roughly $105 million deal with a player option on the second season," wrote Buckley. 

James remains non-committal about his future. In an appearance on his podcast, Mind the Game, he said he has yet to make a decision about his playing future. 

"I haven't had the conversation with the family yet as far as me going forward or whatever the case may be," James said."But we'll see what happens."

As of now, James holds a $52.6 million player option for next season. Last season, he was willing to take a pay cut for L.A. to bring over more talent and help. However, the Lakers failed to make any moves. 

That should all change this summer; however, the expectation is that James will not take a pay cut like he was willing to do last season. That puts the Lakers in a tough spot if they want to build the best possible roster to compete for a title. 

James is poised to enter his 23rd NBA season, approaching what would be his age-41 campaign. 

Even this past year, he continued to show that—when healthy—he remains firmly in the conversation as a top-10 player in the league. Given his unmatched commitment to maintaining peak physical condition, there’s little reason to believe that level of play will taper off anytime soon.

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