According to multiple reports, the Los Angeles Lakers have inked a deal with LeBron James to continue their partnership. This deal was always expected to happen, especially after his son, Bronny James, got drafted.

For the Lakers to stay under the second apron, LeBron had to take a slight pay cut. He took a two-year, $101.35 million deal that puts it as a $2.7 million pay cut. He could have signed a $104 million max.

The deal includes a no-trade clause and a player option for the second year. LeBron will have played 23 seasons in the NBA when this contract expires.

LeBron James Contacted Klay Thompson At Beginning Of Free Agency

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski has dropped a Woj Bomb that many people are paying close attention to, as Klay Thompson could be a member of the Los Angeles Lakers very soon.

According to Woj, LeBron James reached out to Thompson to have a conversation with him as soon as free agency opened. This was his official recruitment pitch to get the talented wing player on his team.

“LeBron James, I’m told, called Klay Thompson right when free agency opened at 6:00 PM Eastern,” said Adrian Wojnarowski on Sports Center.

Rich Paul, LeBron’s agent, already went on the record to say LeBron would forfeit $20 million of his total contract to allow Los Angeles to have their full MLE (Midlevel Exception). This checks out, given that he says he will only do it if it brings in someone like Thompson, James Harden, or someone who is of that quality player.

While the pitch was great, and everything seemed to go well, talks will continue beyond Sunday night. It looks like it’ll go into Monday morning and beyond.

“These conversations, this negotiation will go into tomorrow. There probably will not be a resolution tonight,” said Adrian Wojnarowski.

It should be noted that the Dallas Mavericks are very interested in the 34-year-old, which means they’ll do anything in their power to secure him on a lucrative contract to his liking.

LeBron James Open To Taking Less Money; Opts Out Of His Option

Was anybody shocked to hear LeBron James was opting out of his $51.4 million player option? Not really, given what everyone has been hearing for the past few weeks. However, what is shocking to many is his willingness to take less money for the organization.

With Bronny James being drafted by Los Angeles, this further reinsures the Lakers’ fanbase that LeBron is coming back. According to multiple reports, he is expected to ink a deal to continue his partnership with Rob Pelinka and the team.

For reference on what a potential contract could look like for the 39-year-old, James could get a three-year deal worth up to $160 million. Now, per Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, LeBron is very much open to taking less money to achieve more incredible things for Los Angeles.

Depending on what the Lakers do with D’Angelo Russell after seeing him opt into his player option, LeBron would need to take precisely $12 million less than the max on his new extension. This would allow the Lakers to use the full MLE (Midlevel Exception).

By allowing this, the front office can use the MLE to sign multiple players to fill out their positional needs. Pelinka is under the microscope for what he will do this year’s offseason.