The NBA star may have played for the Los Angeles Lakers for two seasons, but he is set to leave them in a year and not pay any of his $47 million salary. The team has been ordered by a judge to make James repay at least half of what he owes or face jail time.
The “lebron james age” is a story about LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are preparing to make LeBron pay for his $47 million mistake.
This summer, the Los Angeles Lakers must make a critical choice about Russell Westbrook, although it isn’t really their decision at all. Westbrook may exercise his $47 million (yes, $47 million) player option for the 2022-23 season. If (when) he does, LA’s only alternatives are to trade Westbrook in exchange for future draft selections, release Westbrook and deal with the cap implications, or negotiate a buyout.
The Lakers, on the other hand, are apparently considering a fourth option: retaining Westbrook for another season and allowing LeBron James to deal with the $47 million issue he created in the first place.
The Lakers are poised to owe Russell Westbrook $47 million because of LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ Russell Westbrook and LeBron James converse during a game against the Utah Jazz | Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
The Lakers were looking for a third star to pair alongside James and Anthony Davis during the 2021 summer. The front staff opted to save money by dealing for sharpshooter Buddy Hield, but James wanted to shoot for the stars.
According to many sources at the time, James urged the Lakers to trade for Westbrook instead of giving up additional depth. You can’t say no to LeBron, so the Lakers shifted gears and acquired the veteran point guard in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and a 2021 first-round choice.
James usually has an excellent sense of how to build a team, but not in this situation.
With a plus-minus of -211 in his debut season with the Lakers, Westbrook had the lowest plus-minus on the team. To put it mildly, playing with James on the court was a clumsy experience. It turns out that two ball-dominant talents who have been go-to scorers for the most of their careers don’t play well together.
The fresh new appearance In what was an utter disaster of a season, the Lakers concluded with a 33-49 record and failed to reach the playoffs. Los Angeles would want to abandon the Westbrook experiment as quickly as possible, but his $47 million player option makes it practically impossible.
According to reports, the Lakers are planning to make LeBron pay for his blunder.
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When James urged the Lakers to trade for Westbrook, he knew he had a $47 million player option for 2022-23. After a dismal first season with its new core, LA is now effectively held prisoner, with no prospect of dealing Westbrook this summer.
According to NBA Insider Marc Stein (through his Substack), the Lakers are ready to put next season on hold by allowing Westbrook to finish out his contract year.
“The Lakers are once again ignoring the critics, saying to anybody who will listen that they would rather have Russell Westbrook on the team for next season than give up more assets to persuade someone to trade for him,” Stein said. “The Lakers are also thought to be adamant about not releasing the former MVP and eating his $47.1 million player option for next season when Westbrook accepts it.”
James created his bed, and he’ll probably have to sleep in it for at least another year.
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The “nba news” is reporting that the LA Lakers are preparing to make LeBron James pay for his $47 million mistake.
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