The hometown discount officially appears to be off the table for LeBron James.
The possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers star James taking the veteran’s minimum contract this summer is not in the cards at all, veteran NBA writer Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report reported during a video segment on Tuesday. Fischer notes that despite recent speculation from figures around the league that James could consider the veteran’s minimum, it does not sound like James will be willing to accept it.
James, 41, is due for unrestricted free agency this offseason. He has spent eight total seasons now with the Lakers, but there is plenty of doubt as to whether he will make it nine in 2026-27.
For reference, the veteran’s minimum is set to be roughly $3.9 million next season for a player with 10-plus years of NBA experience like James has. But considering that James made $52.6 million this season with the Lakers, that would represent an extremely drastic paycut.
Statisically speaking too, James is still worth a decent chunk of change. For the Lakers this year, he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game over 60 appearances and also made the 22nd All-Star team of his NBA career.
There was indeed some chatter in recent months that James could potentially settle for the minimum and recoup all of the money through one notable route next season. Instead though, James will likely proceed towards the expected route of trying to squeeze out as much salary as he possibly can before he retires from the NBA.
