Translator's note: This article was originally published from CBS, and the author is Sam Quinn. The data in the article are as of the original article as of May 28, local time. The views in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

James has a $52.6 million player option next season.

LeBron James earns more than anyone else in history. Earlier, ESPN reported that James is expected to choose to execute his $52.6 million player option next season. If he does, his total career salary income will exceed $581 million, according to Spotac. Plus his huge income outside the court and business investments – he reportedly had been among billionaires years ago.

But remember, it's only May. James has a month to make decisions, and as the wealthiest player in the NBA, he has more room for maneuver than most to think about them if other contract structures make sense to him. So, given that James is still weighing his options, and the Los Angeles Lakers are also planning their offseason operations to a large extent around his decisions, let’s take a closer look at James’ contract options. What other contracts can he sign with the Lakers? Outside of Los Angeles, is there any place that makes sense to him? What factors may affect his final decision?

So what are the choices LeBron has?

Shams reported that James is expected to execute his $52.6 million player option. The deadline for his decision is June 29. If he executes it, he will remain with the Lakers in that contract, which is slightly below his maximum salary level, and he will retain the non-trade clauses negotiated last summer. By then, he will be a 41-year-old player again as a full free agent next summer. Again, this seems to be the most likely result at the moment, but we need to discuss three other notable possibilities:

·James can choose to jump out of the contract and try to negotiate a maximum salary contract.

·James can choose to jump out of the contract and sign with other teams.

James can choose to jump out of the contract and re-sign with the Lakers on conditions that are more favorable to the Lakers.

Then, let's analyze these possibilities one by one to see if they are reasonable.

, etc., can LeBron get more than $52.6 million?

Yes. James accepted a contract just below his maximum salary last offseason to help the Lakers avoid the second-large line, while his $52.6 million player option was an 8% increase from his $48.7 million salary last season. His actual maximum salary is 35% of the salary cap. With the expected salary cap reaching $154.6 million, James' maximum salary will actually be slightly higher than that, about $54.1 million.

Now, the $1.5 million gap is small, but it may be symbolic. When James signed with the Miami Heat in 2010, he gave up a considerable amount of revenue to help Pat Riley form the roster. This creates an environment where other star players are under pressure to accept contracts below maximum salary. Because, ‘Hey, if LeBron did it all, shouldn’t you? ’James was previously the vice chairman of the Players’ Union and was very sensitive to his influence on other players, so when he returned to Cleveland in 2014, he was determined to accept only maximum salary contracts in the future. Last summer was his first salary cut since.

If James asks the Lakers management for his full maximum salary, the Lakers will likely satisfy him. It's not worth it to have a fight with such a big player just for $1.5 million. And, frankly, James is likely to still deserve a full max salary contract. In addition to the huge financial impact he has had on the court, he has just been selected to the second team of the NBA All-Squad. He will inevitably eventually experience a decline in his state due to age, but for now, this decline may have to happen until anyone can count on this. James is simply not a player you can bargain. He can get the contract he wants, and if the Lakers hesitate, then any other team in the NBA will be happy to get him.

Are you saying LeBron might leave the Lakers?

Well, he does have the right, but the possibility of James leaving the Lakers this offseason is slim. He has taken root in Los Angeles, and he may not want to deepen his impression of being a "job changer", but most importantly, there is no place that makes sense to him at all.

Only one team has significant cap space this offseason: the Brooklyn Nets. James once famously said that New York was his favorite city, and Brooklyn was his favorite district, but the Nets' lineup was basically a blank piece of paper. One deal to another star's big deal may change the situation, but it may affect Brooklyn's cap space. Even if it doesn't have any impact, please, we're talking about LeBron James. When he first came to Los Angeles, he did not sign the Clippers. He pays too much attention to his personal image to not go to New York teams outside the Knicks, and the Knicks are currently unable to create salary space.

So what about signing first and then changing? Well, by signing first and then changing, you must first ask the team's salary cap to be below the first tycoon line. At present, the Knicks' total salary for next season has exceeded this expected line with just a lineup of 11 players. This may work in theory, but it will be very difficult to actually operate, and besides being able to return to the Eastern Conference where competition is much easier, it is difficult to find the motivation to make James this jump at this moment.. They face a choice this summer: whether to prioritize James' present or Doncic's future. If James wants them to prioritize his time window, it is not unreasonable for the Lakers to propose that he should make similar sacrifices for the team. If he wants the Lakers to trade their draft picks and sacrifice their 2026 cap space in order to immediately hit the championship, they may need him to sacrifice enough salary to provide the team with the operating tools they need to achieve that.

Add to further envision. Suppose the Lakers want to capitalize on the cap space in 2026. Then, doing so will likely mean that James is no longer in the team's roster by then, or at least no longer has a substantial salary. If they need to pay a maximum salary or close to the maximum salary to sign a Jackson-level player, they will have to give up James' cap for free agents in 2026 to create the required salary space.

But what if James hopes to stay with the Lakers after the 2025-26 season? Well, choosing to jump out of the contract now gives him more control over it. He could tell the Lakers that he would accept a salary cut, but if he did, they would have to give him another player option next season. This will give him the power to control the team's operations next summer, and since he has successfully negotiated to obtain non-trade clauses, he probably won't be at risk of being traded against his will.

Therefore, from both sides, there are good reasons for James to accept a salary cut. But whether he will accept a salary cut will ultimately depend on himself. The ball is in his hands now and he has a month to make the decision.