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Lakers not viewed as top landing spot for LeBron James in free agency originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
NBA superstar free agent LeBron James has a chance to enter an unprecedented 24th season in the league. James is still reportedly contemplating between playing another season or retiring.
The expectation is that James will play in the 2026-27 season, and all signs point to him and the Lakers striking a deal in the coming weeks. However, NBA insider Eric Pinus doesn't view the Lakers as the front-runners.
In Pincus' latest column, he ranked the top landing spots for James in the upcoming season, and he ranked the Lakers at No. 3 of five options.
"For James, the Lakers could be the best answer as the least disruptive path with no relocation. The team may not do $50 million, but it can pay him more than any other.
"There's also the realistic possibility that the Lakers fall short of their bigger goals this summer, pivoting to James' star power as the right business decision."
The two teams ahead of the Lakers are the Golden State Warriors at two and James' hometown and former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers at one.
Pinus views the Cavaliers as the top landing spot for the 41-year-old superstar, although it will be complicated for Cleveland to land him barring a sign-and-trade.
Lakers face difficult decision on LeBron James' next deal
The start of free agency is over a week away, and it's unclear what James's next move will be. According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, the four-time NBA champion and the Lakers are in active negotiations for a new deal.
"I think the focus right now is making a deal with the Lakers. Right now he's allowed to negotiate with the Lakers and I believe they are negotiating, I believe they're going back and forth," Windhorst said.
However, it's not that easy. James will likely want a max deal, but the Lakers may be reluctant to give him a max deal. ESPN's Dave McMenamin said the Lakers are not expected to come anywhere close to offering him the maximum contract they are technically capable of.
"The sentiment is that the Lakers are the leaders in the clubhouse if (Lebron) decides to play....what does the dollar figure look like? He made $53M last season, the max the Lakers could offer him is 3 years, $182 million. Nobody thinks the Lakers will offer anywhere close to that," McMenamin said.
James wants his money, and if he won't get it with the Lakers, he will likely look elsewhere.
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