Shams Charania: Breaking: Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James is opting into his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN. Paul adds: LeBron “knows the Lakers are building for the future … but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.”
Source: x.com
Source: x.com
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
NBA Trade Rumors Roundup update: Suns talk Devin Booker extension, Beal open to trade, LeBron option with Lakers
nbcsports.com/nba/news/nba-t… – 5:23 PM
NBA Trade Rumors Roundup update: Suns talk Devin Booker extension, Beal open to trade, LeBron option with Lakers
nbcsports.com/nba/news/nba-t… – 5:23 PM
Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
LeBron James Expected to Exercise $52.6M Player Option sportando.basketball/en/lebron-jame… – 4:01 PM
LeBron James Expected to Exercise $52.6M Player Option sportando.basketball/en/lebron-jame… – 4:01 PM
Yossi Gozlan @YossiGozlan
Lakers were unlikely to exceed the second apron anyway.
They are $16.2 million below it if LeBron James and Dorian Finney-Smith pick up their player options.
The bigger question is if they could potentially operate below the first apron. It would open up more possibilities. pic.x.com/toMOs98Z2t – 12:41 PM
Lakers were unlikely to exceed the second apron anyway.
They are $16.2 million below it if LeBron James and Dorian Finney-Smith pick up their player options.
The bigger question is if they could potentially operate below the first apron. It would open up more possibilities. pic.x.com/toMOs98Z2t – 12:41 PM
More on this storyline
Who’s—uh—who do you think, all-time, is like your… who’s your GOAT? Like, your basketball GOAT all time? Stephon Castle: Um, gotta be Jordan, bro. I ain’t gonna lie. Interviewer: Yeah, agree. Stephon Castle: I gotta agree with you on that. I’ll give Bron a close second, but me personally, I got Jordan. -via YouTube / June 29, 2025
The only mechanism the Lakers are projected to have in free agency is the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth $5.7 million, because LeBron James is expected to pick up the final year of his contract for $52.6 million, sources told ESPN. On the trade market, Dalton Knecht and the Lakers’ 2031 first-rounder will continue to be positive assets the Lakers can include in offers, as well as the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) as Pelinka searches for a center. Pelinka indicated that Reaves would not be traded when asked about the team’s core after the season. -via ESPN / June 28, 2025
Cameroonian-American Philadelphia 76ers center and former NBA MVP Joel Embiid has joined the producing team of “Mfinda,” an upcoming anime feature from the Tokyo- and LA-based studio N Lite. Embiid comes on board through his production company Miniature Géant, launched in partnership with LeBron James’ Uninterrupted. Embiid will also executive produce a companion documentary, “Mfinda: Spirits of the Congo,” which will explore the film’s inspirations and behind-the-scenes production. -via Variety.com / June 27, 2025
