A new report suggests the Los Angeles Lakers are “willing to give Lebron James whatever he wants” this offseason to make sure he does not opt out of his contract and take his talents elsewhere this summer.
Heading into the NBA games today the Lakers players are making plans for the summer. After an up-and-down roller coaster of a season, the team saw their 2023-24 campaign come to a crashing end on Monday night when they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets.
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After reaching the Western Conference Finals this time last year, and having a strong final month of the season, the Lakers went out with a whimper after just five games against Denver. It has lit a new fire on speculation from the last few months that Lebron James will exercise the opt-out in his contract and test his value in free agency.
However, all reports are that LA desperately wants to hold on to the league legend. During a Tuesday appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back,” NBA insider Shams Charania claimed, “Lakers are willing to give him whatever he wants essentially…if he wants to come back.”
He also added that one strategy the organization may employ to lure James back is to select his son Bronny James in the June NBA Draft. “In a perfect world, the Lakers have LeBron James back, and potentially they draft Bronny James—I’m told they are interested in picking him in the draft.”
Is JJ Redick a potential candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers head coach job?
One other strategy the Lakers could use was suggested by league insider Marc Stein during a new edition of his Substack newsletter. The veteran NBA reporter offered up the idea of JJ Redick potentially being a candidate for the head coaching job if the team moves on from Darvin Ham in the offseason, as has been rumored.
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The ESPN analyst and James host a podcaster together and there is an obvious respect the future Hall-of-Famer has for Redick. The former Duke star is reportedly a candidate for the Charlotte Hornets job, and Stein also revealed he could be in consideration for a front-office position with the Detroit Pistons.
In the end, he believes it is unlikely Redick would get the Lakers job and replace another first-time head coach, however, considering the Los Angeles Lakers’ desperation levels to hold on to James, anything is possible.
