15 million salary cut? It is revealed that James is unlikely to accept it. Even if he leaves the team, the Lakers salary space will be limited

On May 29, Lakers reporter Jovan Buha analyzed James' salary issues next season on the latest show. He said that the Lakers need James to cut his salary by 15 million to 17 million to use the full middle class, but James is unlikely to accept the salary cut. Buha also said that even if James does not execute the option to leave the Lakers, the Lakers' cap space is still limited.

Buha first briefly introduced the Lakers' salary situation, and they are expected to be a team with a salary exceeding the salary cap and exceeding the luxury tax line. Depending on how they use the $5.7 million mini middle class special case, they may be slightly below the first tyrant line, or they may break through the first tyrant line like last season but remain below the second tyrant line.

This means that the most likely way they can improve their roster is to complete one or more deals, or use a $5.7 million mini-middle.

Buha stressed: "James determines their operational flexibility to a certain extent. He needs to accept a salary cut of about $15-$17 million to allow the team to use the full middle class special case (which can earn $14.1 million in the first year), but as we previously had at The Athletic reported that sources close to James said he was unlikely to accept a salary cut. "

" On the show Tuesday, ESPN reporter Shams reported that he heard that the most likely result was that James executes a $52.6 million player option. Therefore, James' contract amount next season is likely to be around $50 million, which will limit the Lakers' financial flexibility."

Buha also said: "Even if James leaves the team Judging from the actual salary figures, if Finney Smith executes the player option or renews the contract, the Lakers' salary space is still limited, and they may only have $15 million to $20 million in salary space."

Now it seems that the Lakers' operations this summer will revolve around "whether James stays in the team or not" and "center reinforcement". Salary pressure and time urgency coexist, and every decision may reshape the team's competitiveness pattern in the next 3-5 years. During the offseason last year, James expressed his willingness to cut his salary, but the Lakers' pursuit of Clay, Harden, DeRozan and others all failed.