The Los Angeles Lakers officially re-signed LeBron James on Saturday. He won’t make every dollar possible in his new contract.
Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Bobby Marks, James signed a two-year, $101.35 million deal to stay with Los Angeles. He’ll make a bit less than the $104 million maximum contract he was eligible to receive.
The small pay cut keeps the Lakers below the luxury tax’s second apron. Teams over the recently implemented second apron face more restrictions in trades and free-agent signings.
Had James taken the max deal, the Lakers would have lost access to all taxpayer mid-level exceptions. They also couldn’t combine two salaries in a trade to acquire a player with a higher salary.
Already over the first apron, the Lakers can’t use the non-taxpayer midlevel exception or take in more salary than they give away in a trade.
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports also noted that the team’s first-round draft pick becomes “frozen” seven years after exceeding the second apron.
“It cannot be traded until the team has gone four more years without going above the line more than once. If a team does spend at least two of the next four seasons above the line, that pick immediately falls to No. 30 in the first round,” Quinn explained. “This is a restriction the Lakers were simply unwilling to work around. James has sacrificed a bit of money to help them avoid it.”
LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin last week that the 39-year-old was “prioritizing a roster improvement” when opting out of his contract with the Lakers. Paul said James would be willing to sign below the three-year, $162 million max deal to help Los Angeles land an “impact player.”
The Lakers couldn’t acquire any of the big names Paul mentioned (Klay Thompson, James Harden, and Jonas Valančiūnas), which could explain why James didn’t take a more substantial pay cut.
Related: Breaking: LeBron James Agrees To New Contract With Lakers