Annual salary of 52.62 million, not abandoned by the Lakers contract renewal? Sorry, James, you should indeed leave

While the summer league is in full swing, trading rumors in the league are also worth paying attention to. The Lakers have been very lively during this period. One is Brownie. Xia Lian played well in his debut, and he only won the No. 1 pick Flag in 1V1 defense, and his technology has increased a lot. The other is James, and there are more and more rumors about his departure. Two weeks ago, James chose to execute the player option of $52.62 million next season, which released some signals: James clearly knew that he was not in the Lakers' future plan, and the team changed the home, and he had no deep friendship with his new boss. In addition to the Lakers' current salary situation, he had no reason to cut his salary. Another point is why Zhan doesn’t continue to sign a 1+1 contract, because executing this is more beneficial to him than a contract worth more than 50 million. It allows him to get the money while moving forward and backward. Leaving or staying is good for him.

Let's take a look at James' recent turmoil one by one. ESPN reporters Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst jointly reported: In early May, the Lakers were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs for only four days. A high-end restaurant reserved a four-person VIP card, and the reception was held by four Lakers: Doncic, Doncic's agent Lara Beth Sieger, Lakers general manager Pelinka, and team coach JJ Redick. As the core decision-maker of the Lakers in the past seven years, James did not appear at this party. Accompanied by a bottle of high-end wine, Pelinka and Redick are explaining to Doncic how to build a new team strategy around his technical characteristics, and also explain in detail the complex terms of the new labor-capital agreement and how they intend to operate the team under the restrictions of the rule.

There is no doubt that the significance of this meeting is very clear. The Lakers are establishing Doncic as the absolute core position, and the team's footsteps are no longer James. In addition, when the Lakers agreed to sell most of the team's equity to Walter on June 18, they notified Doncic in advance, but did not tell James that Doncic not only received internal notices, but also published a public congratulations on social media, and James was not treated equally and did not make any public statements afterwards. To be honest, James can definitely feel the shift in the Lakers' center of gravity, but he feels that he is not respected and the Lakers are not fully recognized, and his team's contributions have been made before. In Vincehot's words, James understands the Lakers' decision to seize the opportunity to turn to the young superstar, but from his point of view, some details of this transition have been overlooked.

Indeed, James' contribution to the Lakers in recent years is absolutely constructive. When he chose to join the Lakers in 2018, the Lakers had not made the playoffs for five consecutive seasons, setting the worst record since the team moved to Los Angeles. In two years, James helped the Lakers achieve new glory and won the 17th championship in team history. During the Lakers period, James created many historical milestones. He surpassed the legendary Jabbar and became the NBA's historical scoring champion; his regular season total score broke the 40,000-point mark, and the highly anticipated "411" project was officially completed; last season, James' total score of the regular season + total score of the playoffs, even broke through 50,000 points, unprecedented and no one to come. Previously, James only played for the Cavaliers for seven consecutive seasons, and in the Lakers, James immediately ushered in his eighth consecutive season. On the other side, Doncic did not even take the initiative to join the Lakers, but was just traded. To put it bluntly, the NBA is just a business world, without so-called sentiment or loyalty. The team depends entirely on your personal ability and value. If you are strong enough, you can be the core. Even if you are the second person in history, that is, after your combat power has declined, you will still gradually fade out of the team's attention. ESPN reporters also said: All signs indicate that the Lakers intend to part ways with LeBron James in the spring of 2026. The Lakers have expressed their attitude and will not provide James with a contract after next season (2025-26). This also means that James had a planned end date for the first time during the Lakers, even if his career was not over yet.

" Whether the 2025-26 season will become James' last season in the NBA depends on himself. But if he wants a legendary perfect ending that only the Lakers can give, then the time of the (endup) has been determined." For James, since you, the Lakers have been cruel to abandon me, I will not show mercy and execute the player options for next season, without considering any salary cuts to strengthen the team. To be honest, I still hope that James can stay in the Lakers to play for a few more years. The current Lakers' lineup is also good. The newly signed No. 1 pick Ayton knows that he and Zhan Dong have a lot of confidence and will definitely play here. The Lakers are not without the chance to compete for the championship. Unfortunately, the relationship between James and the Lakers seems to have come to an end, and he has to choose to leave.