52.6 million US dollars in 1 year! 188 million US dollars in 3 years! Lao Zhan sees the reality clearly, the NBA is just a business

New season, new pattern, new mission. Some teams will fail if they don’t win the championship, but some teams can see their upper limit at a glance. The Los Angeles Lakers obviously belong to the latter group. From letting go of Finney Smith to signing Laravia, to picking up Ayton and Smart, the Lakers' recruitment work and reinforcements are completely unable to compare with those of the Thunder, Nuggets, Rockets, Clippers and other championship contenders. More importantly, James is one year older. It's hard to imagine that he can be rejuvenated in the playoff series, not to mention that he and the Lakers have entered a seven-year itch from the honeymoon period.

Execute the one-year player option of US$52.6 million, Lao LeBron James continues to write a legend

Looking back on the past, Lao LeBron James was struggling in the regular season at his peak, and "Postseason LeBron James" was unfavorable, with 10 years in his career He entered the finals and won 4 championship trophies, and his game dominance was daunting; now, as James gets older and becomes more and more demonic, he has switched to another mode: he punches hard in the regular season, but is unable to do what he wants in the playoffs, and his influence on the game is not to be feared. Take last season as an example, Lao Zhan played 70 games, averaging 24.4 points + 7.8 rebounds + 8.2 assists + 1 steal + 2.1 three-pointers, with a shooting percentage of 51.3% and a true shooting percentage of 60.4%. The Lakers achieved 50 wins and 32 losses, ranking third in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, Lao Zhan averaged 25.4 points + 9 rebounds + 5.6 assists + 2 steals + 1.8 blocks per game. However, the Lakers were defeated by the Timberwolves 1-4 in the first round.

During this offseason, James failed to reach an early contract extension with the Lakers. He finally decided to exercise the player option worth US$52.6 million in the last year and start the 23rd season of his career. According to statistics, this is the first time in Lao Zhan's career that he has implemented a player option. Lao Zhan started the 23rd season of his career and became the first player in NBA history to complete this achievement. Lao Zhan continues to write legends, and the new season will usher in many god-level milestones. According to statistics, Lao James has played 1,562 games in his career, ranking second in NBA history. He is only 49 games away from Parish (1,611), who has played the most games in NBA history. Lao James has 11,584 assists in his career, ranking 2nd in NBA history. Ranked 4th in NBA history, only 507 away from third-place Kidd (12,091); Lao James has 2,559 three-pointers, ranking 7th in NBA history, only 1 away from sixth-place Reggie Miller (2,560).

Lao Zhan was injured and hit US$188 million in 3 years.

Every small step Lao Zhan takes is a giant step beyond the reach of ordinary people. As fans say: He not only wants to be the tallest mountain in the NBA, but also wants to be the longest river in the NBA. However, at the beginning of the new season, Lao Zhan was injured. According to NBA reporter Shams, James will miss at least 3-4 weeks due to sciatica on his right side, which also means that James' record of playing in the opening game for 22 consecutive years will come to an end. According to American media and sports medicine experts, Lao Zhan's injury first appeared during a training session in late July and has lasted for two and a half months. He needs a lot of rest and various physical therapies and massages to relieve the pressure on his waist and hips.

Considering Lao Zhan's 41-year-old age, neither the Lakers nor Lao Zhan will bet their careers on winning or losing a city or a pool in the regular season. Lao James will only come back when he is 100% recovered, and this injury may recur at any time. James is in a contract year. According to calculations by NBA salary expert Bobby Marks, James is eligible to sign a three-year, $188 million maximum salary contract with the Lakers next summer. The starting salary for the 26-27 season will be as high as $58.1 million. Due to emotions, reasons and interests, Lao Zhan will increase the training intensity, strive for an early comeback, and be cautious in the new season. Health is above all else. If he is not competing for the championship, he must also fight for the next maximum salary contract.

Lao Zhan sees the reality clearly, the NBA is just a business

In a sense, Lao James' injury may not be a bad thing. This may be an opportunity for Lao James and the Lakers to re-examine each other. The new season is Lao Zhan's 8th season playing for the Lakers. This is the longest consecutive time he has played for any team (7 years in the Cavaliers 1.0 period, 4 years in the Heat period, and 4 years in the Cavaliers 2.0 period). I don’t know if there is a seven-year itch in Lao Zhan’s world and concepts, but one thing is for sure. The Lakers did not renew Lao James’ contract in advance this summer, and they will not provide Lao James with a three-year maximum salary contract of US$188 million next summer. To take a step back, even if the Lakers are eager for Lao James to complete his last dance with the Lakers, they do not want Lao James' contract to become a shackles for the team's future. In the words of fans: No matter how fragrant Lao James is, he is still a Mrs. Niu, while Doncic is a little sweetie who becomes more and more fragrant with each passing day.

Lao Zhan has the right to veto transactions, and he can still control his own destiny. According to NBA reporter Shams, Lao Zhan will observe the Lakers' combat effectiveness during the injury period. If the Lakers struggle, then we may see Lao Zhan's next decision sometime in the middle of the season. Rather than saying that Lao Zhan is more eager to win, it is better to say that he sees the reality clearly: the NBA is just a business, making money is the last word, and he can no longer obtain greater benefits from the Lakers. Lao Zhan has always been eager to seize the opportunity of NBA expansion to own an NBA team of his own. This requires a lot of money, time is tight and the tasks are heavy. He needs to seize the tail of his peak period and continue to accumulate wealth. This is more urgent than competing for the championship! Fans and friends, what do you think of this? Come and leave me a comment to discuss.