The start of NBA free agency is on Sunday afternoon and as is usually the case, the Los Angeles Lakers could be one of the teams stealing headlines.
After numerous role players opted into their player options, the Lakers currently do not have any cap space or roster spots.
LeBron James could help aid them in that, however, as he is willing to take a pay cut if it means the Lakers can add an impact player. If he follows through with that, the Lakers will be able to use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of around $12.9 million per year.
James isn’t willing to do that for just anyone though and Dave McMenamin of ESPN is reporting that James Harden, Klay Thompson and Jonas Valanciunas are players he would do it for:
The type of player that James would be willing to make a financial sacrifice for would be an established veteran playmaker like James Harden or Klay Thompson, or an established big man to play alongside Anthony Davis — like Jonas Valančiūnas, sources told ESPN.
The Clippers seem intent on re-signing James Harden, especially with the strong possibility of Paul George leaving, so him coming to the Lakers for the mid-level exception likely isn’t happening.
L.A. is believed to want to address the center position and Valanciunas could be an answer there, although he wouldn’t be the splashy move that James seems to be looking for.
Mutual interest between Lakers and Klay Thompson?
That leaves Thompson as the most likely option here, and there appears to be mutual interest. Heading into free agency, the possibility of Thompson leaving the Golden State Warriors, the only franchise he has ever known, is more real than ever.
Thompson will likely have a number of suitors in free agency with the Clippers and Dallas Mavericks being among them. The chance to return home and play for the team he grew up rooting for has to be appealing to Thompson though, especially with his dad Mychal still calling games for the Lakers franchise.
Regardless, James won’t be taking a pay cut for just anyone so it will be up to Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office to find someone that is good enough to convince the 39-year-old to do so.
If they are unable to then the Lakers will likely head into the 2024-25 season without making any real roster upgrades, hoping improvement would come internally through their coaching change.
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