With the expected return of LeBron James, the Lakers must provide him with significant roster upgrades

The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2024 offseason is off to an encouraging start.

They hired a brilliant young coach in JJ Redick. They got top-10 prospect Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. They made history by reuniting LeBron James with his oldest son, Bronny James, with their No. 55 pick. D’Angelo Russell, arguably the biggest domino of their offseason, went with that pick, giving them a mid-sized expiring contract that could potentially be traded.

Then, on Saturday, nearly five hours before the 5 p.m. ET deadline, LeBron James opted to terminate his contract with the intention of re-signing with the Lakers, according to AthleticismShams Charania. Athleticism It was previously reported that the Lakers wanted James back and were willing to offer him whatever type of contract he preferred.

James’s exit is another win for the Lakers, who could save at least $1.5 million in cap space if he doesn’t exercise his $51.4 million player option for next season. (The tradeoff for James is that he’s eligible to add a no-trade clause to his contract, which would give him control over his future.)

James might be willing to take an even bigger pay cut if it allows the Lakers to open the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (worth about $12.9 million) to vouchers types of players, according to Bleacher Report. James’ agent, Rich Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports, told ESPN that his client would only be willing to take a discount for an “impact player,” with James Harden, Klay Thompson and Jonas Valančiūnas as names reported that would do the trick. The mid-level non-taxpayer exception would result in a significant pay cut for Harden and Thompson, in particular.

However, there is mutual interest between the Lakers and Thompson, as Athleticism’Charania and Anthony Slater were the first to report.

Thompson, a Southern California native, is the son of Mychal Thompson, who played for the Showtime Lakers from 1987 to 1991 and is the team’s current radio commentator. The younger Thompson, 34, is a four-time NBA champion and one of the greatest shooters of all time. Thompson spent his 12 professional seasons with the Golden State Warriors, but the relationship has broken down to the point where Thompson is likely to leave. The Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and LA Clippers are all chasing him.

If James accepts a reduction so the Lakers can access their full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, the Lakers will be capped at the top apron of $178.7 million. That means James would have to take a reduction of more than $16 million with his starting salary sitting at just over $33 million for the 2024-25 season. The most likely salary reduction scenario would be for James to sign a two-year deal with a player option for 2025-26, allowing him to opt out in 2025 and re-sign for more money, league sources say. The Lakers could also make a small salary swap (or two) to create more financial wiggle room and allow James to take a smaller reduction.

If the Lakers fail to secure a star or high-level starter with their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, James will sign the max, according to ESPN. If LeBron re-signs at his max for 2024-25 (about $49.9 million), the Lakers will have about $182.3 million in committed salary. That puts them less than $8 million under the second apron ($189.5 million). James also wants his contract resolved before he begins training at the USA Basketball men’s Olympic mini-camp on July 6 in Las Vegas.

Regardless of what happens with James, the Lakers are in a good position to improve their roster if they choose. The ball is in their court as to the rest of the offseason.

Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka tempered expectations earlier in the week – twice – by saying trades were more difficult to execute under the new collective bargaining agreement of the NBA. On the face of it, this is true, given the new punitive restrictions of the first and second apron.

At the same time, business activity over the past week, particularly in the lead-up to the Western Conference summit, paints a different reality. Around this time, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for defensive ace Alex Caruso, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for No. 8 pick Rob Dillingham, the Denver Nuggets traded for DaRon Holmes II and Reggie Jackson, whose salary was dropped in an attempt to retain Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. , the Dallas Mavericks waived Tim Hardaway Jr. so they could keep starter Derrick Jones Jr. (or sign Thompson) and the New Orleans Pelicans made a nifty deal for former Lakers target Dejounte Murray.

The rest of the West is looking for ways to make trades that improve their rosters or serve as precursors to other moves. Now it’s up to the Lakers to do the same.

They have the assets to make a notable exchange. Russell’s $18.7 million contract gives them a level of flexibility in terms of the types of players they can pursue. Add in one or both of their future first-round picks, up to three pick swaps and the average salaries of Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt and/or Gabe Vincent, and the Lakers can enter the conversation for just about any non-star (and even some low-end stars). That is, again, before factoring in the potential addition of Thompson or another high-impact player for their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

As for trades, it seems unlikely that the Lakers will get a third star in a deal unless an unanticipated star secretly becomes available. Donovan Mitchell would likely sign a contract extension with Cleveland, which would rule him out. Trae Young’s move from Klutch Sports to CAA also makes a trade with the Lakers less likely, as Athleticism as previously reported. Murray is now in New Orleans and off the board. Darius Garland could possibly become available, but he’s clearly a step down from the star-studded group of Mitchell and Young.

Still, there are potentially good options. Wings such as Portland’s Jerami Grant, former Lakers player Kyle Kuzma and the Nets’ duo of Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson are expected to be available on the trade market, league sources say. They’re not the biggest needle movers, but any of those four players would improve the Lakers’ perimeter defense, frontcourt size and/or floor spacing. Grant, for his part, would check each of those boxes; he’s quietly shot over 40 percent from 3 in back-to-back seasons in Portland.

The Lakers’ roster as it currently stands is not good enough to make it out of the Western Conference. They can win a round, or two, if the tables turn in their favor, but they have too many gaps compared to the rest of the Western Conference’s top teams, especially on the wings. Their size, defense, speed, and overall athleticism are all lacking compared to their competition. James and Davis have recently made it clear that they think this roster needs improvement.

The Timberwolves, Thunder, Mavericks and Pelicans all have better rosters than they finished last season. Denver’s position could change if it loses Caldwell-Pope in free agency and the Clippers could likely fall if they lose Paul George, but more importantly the rest of the West is reorganizing, which could create even more distance between them and the Lakers. If the Lakers truly want to compete with James and Davis for the title, they need to strengthen this supporting cast.

The most immediate complication of this effort is the roster crisis the Lakers face. Assuming LeBron James re-signs, they will have 14 players under contract after Russell, Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes and Cam Reddish sign and draft Knecht and Bronny James. That’s before factoring in their other free agents (Max Christie, Taurean Prince and Spencer Dinwiddie) or any potential free agents.

The Lakers have made a qualifying offer to Christie to officially make him a restricted free agent, team sources confirmed to The Athletic. The front office would like to keep Christie and consider him a rotation player next season, the sources said. However, the Lakers would need to clear additional money and roster space to sign Christie and one other player, barring any mid-level non-taxpayers.

If Russell had opted out, the Lakers would have had fewer choices in the transfer market. But with his pick, James interested in a pay cut for the right free agent and the Lakers armed with several mid-salaries, two first-round picks and several trade picks to trade, there’s no excuse for that Los Angeles does not significantly improve its roster with one or two big transfers in the coming days.

(Top photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)