Lakers Could Ditch $7,438,962 Worth Dark Clouds to Lure Bronny, Confirming Father LeBron James’ Loyalty to LA

Published 04/30/2024, 6:30 PM EDT

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The Los Angeles Lakers is the ground to fulfill the NBA great LeBron James‘s dreams. Since his transfer to the Lakers in 2018, James has grown in stature both on the court and off the court. He won his fourth NBA Championship in 2020 and now aims to accomplish another wish of playing alongside his elder son Bronny James. But will the Lakers allow him to do so?

Bronny James played his freshman season for the University of Southern California Trojans. And now has declared for the NBA 2024 draft scheduled to be in June this year. He has also entered the NCAA transfer portal as a fallback.

LeBron James plans to extend his contract by 2 years as the Lakers draft Bronny

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An interesting thing to note is the Lakers are currently on a $7,438,962 surplus as per Spotrac. The tax threshold is $171,315,000 while the Lakers currently stand at $178,753,962. Despite such financial limitations, as per the Basket News (h/t: The Athletics) James might play his trade for the franchise for two more seasons. As per the same source, the Lakers are keen on drafting James Jr. This will increase their salary cap but still the Lakers would rather choose to ignore it since as per the same source they want to sign Bronny.

USA Today via Reuters

As mentioned, Bronny has declared for the NBA draft, and the Lakers are also projected as the most likely team to pick him. As per Fox News, DraftKings Sportsbook projects Bronny landing at the Lakers with +350 chances. This only seems to support the conviction that Bronny might next be seen donning the Lakers jersey.

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Considering Bronny’s abysmal display in the NCAA this season, this is the perfect time for him to get a new start, and nothing better than fulfilling his father’s dream. Another point to note is that since as per reports James might get a contract extension the maximum being of three years, Bronny might commit to the Lakers if not this year then maybe next. It also opens the scope of Bryce playing with his family.

Los Angeles Lakers end their dreams of winning NBA 2024

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While James’s dreams are still alive, the Lakers’ hope for winning the championship title came to an end when the franchise lost the first conference round 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers will have to do some introspective thinking before taking any major decision and preparing for the next season. Plus they will also have to check their roster and see that they form the perfect team for the next seasons.

On the other hand, now that they have reportedly decided to land Bronny, the father-son duo might cast their charm on the cash-rich league, taking them another title in the coming years. 

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Written by:

Ritvan Pande

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Ritvan Pande is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He covers Perspectives and Classics as the expert in the longform coverage. Inspired by the fabled Chicago Bulls trio of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, Ritvan captures the staggering court encounters in the same competitive style.
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Edited by:

Caroline Joseph