One of the key moves for the Lakers to be made this offseason is securing commitment from LeBron James who is about to enter the final year of his current deal.
In just three days the four-time NBA champion will be eligible to sign a 2-year $97.1 million extension with the purple and gold, as reported by Anil Cogna.
James has two realistic options. One is not to sign an extension and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The second is to sign a 1+1 extension with player option for the second year.
While James refused to make any public comments about his future, the prevailing view is that he is extremely happy living in Los Angeles and has no intention to leave.
However, LeBron could use the contract talks as a leverage to force the Lakers to make roster changes that he would like be done. It was reported that he was actively pushing the team to make a trade for Kyrie Irving.
This past season which was his 19th in the NBA, James averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 37.2 minutes per game.
