Bill Simmons, the CEO of Ringer and a well-known Lakers hater, has a lot to say about the lucrative new LeBron James agreement and the newest signing of Los Angeles point guard Patrick Beverley.
Simmons examines the two-year extension of the freshly signed 37-year-old All-Star striker’s top pay in a podcast interview with NBA reporters Wosny Lambre and Rob Mahoney of The Ringer.
The transaction’s value is $97,133,373.
James will be bound to Los Angeles for the 2023–2024 NBA season.
For his 40th season (2024–25), he has a player option that is anticipated to be worth $50,434,636.
Los Angeles resident Simmons observes that
His friends who are Lakers fans are split on the trade.
LeBron “Bronny” James Jr., the eldest son of James, will be eligible to play in the NBA in 2024/25, therefore the elder James might forfeit the final year of his contract with the Lakers and sign with him, as Simmons notes.
According to Simmons, the agreement gives Anthony Davis, an All-Star big player who is prone to injury, and James lucrative contracts until the 2024 season.
Podcast’s transcript
In particular, Simmons expresses his dissatisfaction with the player option, which he claims isn’t conclusive enough.
Simmons observes that other Western Conference teams were substantially deeper than the club’s pre-Beverley iteration, but this segment was recorded before news broke that the Lakers had traded for Patrick Beverley.
Mannix speculates that he anticipated the Lakers would at least come close to a deal to unseat the nine-time former All-Star and 2017 MVP because of the unsteady history of current point guard Russell Westbrook and prospective point guard Patrick Beverley both on and off the court.
Mannix believes that the best option for the Rob Pelinka-led Los Angeles Front Office Brain Trust is Westbrook’s much-discussed hypothetical trade of Myles Turner and Buddy Hield to the Indiana Pacers for two first-round picks (in 2027 and 2029, as well as the potential right to swap other selections).
Why the Pacers would accept such a deal is a question Simmons has.
The Pacers would be far more likely to make the lottery this year if Turner and, to a lesser extent, Hield were to leave the team.
Beverley is a much better match for the Lakers, according to both Simmons and Mannix, especially given how much better the defense will be with her.
