The NBA at this time is revolving around the Playoffs phase, where the 4 strongest teams compete for 2 tickets to play in the final series – NBA Finals 2024.
However, an interesting piece of news on the sidelines of the postseason matches has appeared. “Super Agent” Rich Paul, the representative of both LeBron James and his son Bronny, and many NBA players contributed to TNT’s live broadcast today (May 26).
It’s unclear whether accidentally or intentionally, the CEO of Klutch Sports revealed LeBron James’ future situation right on television, a rare thing.
In between the conversation between Rich Paul and TNT reporter Chris Haynes about the search for a new coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, Paul said:
“Hey, LeBron is a free agent . I’ll have to take care of this for him, he’ll have to take care of his own business and let the Lakers hire whatever coach they want.
LeBron will still play hard no matter who the club’s head coach is. I think at this level, he will have the right to contribute to the search stage if he wants, but this is not what is happening.”
Information surrounding the search for a captain for the Lakers will not be as important as the statement “LeBron is a free agent” that Rich Paul revealed.
It is unclear whether the “super rich” accidentally revealed this information or not because LeBron James still has a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the “king” has the right to refuse to play for the year (salary of 51.4 million USD). US dollars) end under Player Option terms.
Rich Paul’s share may implicitly confirm that LeBron will temporarily say goodbye to the Lakers. However, James’s representative immediately retracted his statement when asked again by Chris Haynes.
Journalist Chris Haynes: “You just said something, Rich. You said LeBron is a free agent. So LeBron will turn down the senior year clause?”
Rich Paul replied: “Chris, you know I don’t discuss work on television, right? I don’t know what he will do. We will treat this summer like any other summer, carefully evaluating the situation to make the best decision.”
There is information emerging that LeBron James may quit the Los Angeles Lakers, refuse the final year clause (decline player option) for the 2024-25 season and temporarily say goodbye to the yellow and purple team.
From here, rumors suggest that James will consider his options and find a suitable destination. The doors include joining the team that will select his son Bronny in the NBA Draft or returning to the LA Lakers with a new, more valuable, longer contract.
In addition, some information suggests that LeBron James wants to renegotiate his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, asking him to attach a “no trade clause” to the new contract. This can be simply understood as if both sides reach agreement. agreement, the Lakers will not be able to trade LeBron.
In the case of a direct extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, the “king” will not be able to attach the above special clause to the next contract. Therefore, he would rather re-sign a new contract than extend the contract. old copper.
With this information, it would not be strange if LeBron James became a free agent as his agent Rich Paul said on TNT. He has every reason to do so to consider the most suitable path, including returning to the Los Angeles Lakers with a new, “bigger” contract.