The Lakers may have just gotten a massive break from LeBron James when he opted out of the final year of his contract with the organization.
On Saturday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that James intends to decline his 2024-25 player option but remain with the Lakers, which should not surprise anyone.
This offseason, Los Angeles has already hired his podcasting buddy, JJ Redick, as its head coach and drafted his son, Bronny James, with the No. 55 overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft.
While ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted James is eligible for a three-year, $162 million extension, the largest of his career, Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes revealed James could have other plans.
“The superstar is considering opening up a pathway for the team to obtain the full midlevel exception for the right targets,” Haynes wrote on social media.
Per Spotrac, the full, or non-taxpayer, mid-level salary exception (MLE) in 2024-25 is $12,951,000. As the name implies, it’s available to teams below the tax line, projected to be $171.3 million for the upcoming season.
With $127.3 million already in the active cap, James would need to take less than the max for Los Angeles to receive the full MLE.
The Lakers could certainly use the help. In his list of Lakers team needs entering free agency, Marks mentioned a ball-handler, 3-and-D players and a versatile backup center to Anthony Davis as the kinds of players they should target.
Since winning the 2020 NBA championship, Los Angeles has had two first-round playoff exits and missed the 2021-22 playoffs entirely. The Lakers were also swept by the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
Los Angeles has struggled to build a consistent winner around James since he arrived, and a little financial sacrifice on his end could be a big help as the franchise seeks an 18th league championship.
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NBA
Warriors will trade Jonathan Kuminga under one condition
After missing the playoffs this year, the Warriors are under immense pressure to maximize 36-year-old Stephen Curry’s shrinking title window. To do so, they could be forced to trade Jonathan Kuminga, a 21-year-old with superstar upside. Should the Warriors pull the trigger? After the two-day NBA draft, Warriors front-office head Mike Dunleavy Jr. was asked “what it would take” for his franchise to consider parting with their young core pieces of Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski.
“It would have to be something that we felt would unequivocally change the trajectory of our franchise,” Dunleavy responded via NBC Sports. “We like those guys, we think they’re gonna be really good. So, it has to be something that makes us a lot better than that.” Dunleavy’s decision not to deem Kuminga “untouchable” in trade talks suggests that the Warriors are open to business.
Earlier this year, Charles Barkley joked that the Warriors “would be stupid” to even consider trading Kuminga, a player many expect to dominate the NBA in a few years. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. Golden State has 11 players under contract going into the 2024-25 season. Klay Thompson is not one of them. The veteran sharpshooter is expected to make his free agency decision in the coming days.
If he were to bolt from the Bay Area, the Warriors could be under even more pressure to get Curry help. As good as Kuminga could be in a few years, he’s the only asset the Warriors could utilize to make a significant roster upgrade. But he’s also the best bet to succeed Curry as the next face of the franchise. The clashing timelines put the Warriors in a catch-22 situation.
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NFL
Former NFL GM drops bold take on Packers QB Jordan Love
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love pulled off a shocking upset in the playoffs last season against the Dallas Cowboys. With months to soak in the potential breakout statement, one former NFL general manager has decided he would take Love ahead of every quarterback, with one obvious exception.
Speaking on “NFL Live” on Wednesday, analyst Mike Tannenbaum declared he would only take Patrick Mahomes ahead of Jordan Love. “Outside of Patrick Mahomes, if we … were running an NFL team today, there is nobody on the planet I’d rather have than Jordan Love,” Tannenbaum said. Love left a massive footprint on the face of the league in 2024. After a slow start with repeated mistakes at the end of games, the quarterback popped.
The young quarterback started 3-6, but went on a second-half surge to lead the Packers to a 9-8 record and a Wild Card Round playoff win. Can Jordan Love supplant Aaron Rodgers? Of course, the bar for Love is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers set that bar sky-high in the regular season and well within reach in the playoffs. In the regular season, Rodgers went 147-75-1. In other words, if Love can win twice as many games as he loses, he would pass the quarterback in terms of regular-season success. Rodgers also set the statistical bar as perfect as one could get. With the Packers, he threw for 475 touchdowns and 105 interceptions.
As it stands, Love has thrown for 35 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over the course of his career. Put simply, he still has a way to go in the regular season in terms of total work. However, when it comes to playoff production, Love is arguably already within reach of tying Rodgers. Rodgers won just one Super Bowl in his career. As such, Love technically could tie him in the category this year. If he were to go on a Mahomesian two-year streak, he could pass Rodgers in the most important postseason category by February 2026.
At this point, it is too early to tell just what the Packers have on their hands. After his first full starting season, defenses now have had time to think up counters to his best moves. If Jordan Love could pivot to a second set of moves effectively, he would prove that he belongs in the NFL. However, if he stumbles, he becomes an underdog in the chase of Rodgers’ legacy.
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NHL
Golden Knights trade for former seventh-overall pick, goaltender
The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired goaltender Akira Schmid and forward Alexander Holtz from the New Jersey Devils, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. In return, New Jersey has received forward Paul Cotter and Vegas’ 2025 third-round pick.
This trade provides Vegas a quick fill-in for Logan Thompson after it dealt him to the Washington Capitals for two picks. Thompson served as Vegas’ starter in the wake of injuries to Adin Hill last season, posting 25 wins and a .908 save percentage in 46 starts. It was a strong year for Thompson that warrants another shot at opportunity. He’ll search for that in Washington, while Vegas brings in Schmid, 24, who’s filled a much more typical backup role with the Devils.
He posted a measly five wins and .895 save percentage this year, but was much more effective as a rookie last season, when he managed nine wins and a .922 save percentage in 18 games. Schmid is still in need of a bigger sample size, but his career .899 save percentage through 43 games suggests a modest NHL upside. The Golden Knights will get to test that upside alongside the surprising addition of top young forward Alexander Holtz. Previously the seventh-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Holtz struggled to earn consistent ice time under previous Devils head coach Lindy Ruff.
Even then, Holtz found his way to good effect, recording 16 goals and 28 points while playing in all 82 games this season. Holtz seemed rife with upside this season, even amidst an ever-changing role. Consistency in the Vegas top-six could lead to a major pay-off, though Holtz will have to fight with Pavel Dorofeyev for the role of young sniper atop the Vegas depth charts. Meanwhile, New Jersey receives the projectable role of Cotter. He stepped in as Vegas’ full-time fourth-line centerman this year, recording 25 points and 41 penalty minutes through 76 games.
It was his second full-year on an NHL roster, having recorded 13 goals and 18 points in 55 games last year. Cotter doesn’t inspire too much down the lineup, though he should be a responsible addition to New Jersey’s bottom lines.
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NBA
Veteran forward Kevin Love declining option with Heat
Heat forward Kevin Love is turning down his player option for next season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Love becomes an unrestricted free agent by turning down his $4M option. Even though he’s declining his player option, Wojnarowski reports the two sides are enthusiastic about reaching a new deal in the opening days of free agency.
Love has spent the past season and a half with the Heat after being bought out by the Cavaliers before the 2023 trade deadline. Love has been one of the more underrated buyout pickups of the last few years, immediately settling into a veteran leader role while averaging 8.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 76 games with the Heat (22 starts).
He was also a big part of Miami’s run to the NBA Finals in 2022-23, averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 37.5% from deep (4.4 attempts) in 20 postseason appearances. Love, 35, is a five-time NBA All-Star and one-time championship winner with the Cavaliers in 2015-16. He’s played 929 games (684 starts) while holding career averages of 16.5 points and 10.1 rebounds. According to basketball-reference.com, Love has a 73.47% chance to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
According to the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang, one option could be for Love to re-sign with the Heat at a minimum of about $3.3M with an additional year attached. That would give the Heat extra wiggle room under the second apron to keep some free agents.