Lakers Rumors: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, Free Agency (2024)

Scotto: I wasn’t expecting LeBron James to give a cryptic end-of-the-season availability leaving his future a little bit up in the air with some things to think about. If you talk to anyone around the league, most people think LeBron is ultimately going to be back next season with the Lakers going for a title run if they can.

Buha: I think it was a premeditated decision to leave the cryptic breadcrumbs he left at the end of that press conference. I was there front row, and I’ve rewatched it a couple of times on YouTube and going through it like film pausing, rewinding and factoring in his relationships with certain reporters. I think he was hinting at it throughout the press conference, where he wouldn’t talk about next season.

He was asked if this team is a contender for next season, and he said he hadn’t even thought about next season yet. I asked him a similar question to the one that concluded the press conference, and he told me, “I don’t think about my seasons. I don’t review them. That’s for you guys to do.” I’ll review them when my career’s over. To go that route at the end of the press conference and say he has a lot to think about with his future in basketball.

As I reported at The Athletic, everyone I’ve talked to with and around the Lakers expects him to be back. The Lakers are planning their offseason with the mindset that LeBron is going to be back. I pegged it in a mailbag we did around 10 percent that he’s not back due to retirement or playing for another team, but that might even be a little high.

I thought the Jay-Z lyrics he quoted were interesting. It was off the album where Jay-Z was retiring at the time and taking a little break, and he came back and dropped multiple albums since then. I don’t know if that is LeBron hinting that he needs a few months off or a season off. Maybe he does the Jordan and retires for a year and then comes back to play with Bronny in the 2024-25 season.

I think it was just an exhaustion thing and heat of the moment thing. We’ve seen LeBron come through time and again in elimination games. For him to drop a 40-point near triple-double and the Lakers to still get swept, I’m sure some part of him is wrestling with his basketball mortality. Nine times out of 10, that LeBron game gets his team a win.

For him, I think he was weighing a lot at the time. We know LeBron is very calculated and likes to be specific with certain things. We also know he likes the drama, and that Instagram story kind of fed into that of adding further intrigue into what he’ll do.

My read on the situation is I expect him to be back. I know most people with the team expect it, and I think this is him sorting through some things. Ultimately, he’s too good to retire at this point. I think for the greats, you rarely see them go out when they still have this much left in the tank. I suspect LeBron will play at least one more year, if not a couple more.

Scotto: It was certainly a taxing year for him mentally and physically. The biggest thing to me that I thought of is when he’s healthy, he’s still one of the top players in the NBA. I think this is more about potentially maybe a little bit of leverage. Kyrie Irving was at Crypto Arena – and if you’re D’Angelo Russell getting ready to play a game, that had to be something to look over and see Kyrie there while Kyrie and LeBron are doing their handshakes – and some wondered if this was a leverage play to get the Lakers to make a move to get Irving.

I’ve heard there’s no truth to any reports that Irving has a handshake deal with Dallas on a new max contract for four years with a player option at this time. Not to say he won’t be back in Dallas. They certainly have all the motivation to keep him after trading for him and the financial resources to make him the best offer possible, but nothing’s done as of yet.

Scotto: What would you say are the realistic chances, if any, that Irving ends up a Laker? I don’t personally think they’re high.

Buha: I kind of broke the news on here (The HoopsHype Podcast) a couple of months ago talking about it with you where I said, in my opinion and based on conversations with people around the team, that I felt the ship had sailed with Kyrie and the Lakers. Until we see a concrete resolution to his situation, I think there are always going to be murmurs. I think if you gave LeBron truth serum, he’d love to play with Kyrie again. I don’t think that’s a secret. He was pushing for Kyrie at the Feb. 9 trade deadline. He made public comments about it in a postgame media availability. The previous summer, he wanted the Lakers to trade Russell Westbrook for Kyrie.

As my colleague Tim Cato reported in one of his mailbags, Dallas has little to no incentive to help the Lakers out in this situation. The cleanest way to do it for L.A. would be a double sign-and-trade where they’d send D’Angelo Russell to Dallas, and they’d get back Kyrie. But why would Dallas do that? They don’t have interest in Russell. He’s coming off a disappointing Conference Finals.

Scotto: In talking with people around the league, Austin Reaves’ situation is one of the most fascinating because it appears, essentially, that Reaves is going to get a four-year, $54 million deal the Lakers can offer, or it’s going to take a team coming in at four years, $100 million to really move the needle with a restricted free agency offer sheet. Some executives think he’s worth $80 million (over four years).

Once free agency unfolds, maybe some teams don’t get guys they thought they would get with cap space. Could they make a bigger offer sheet and go up to that $100 million? That remains to be seen. The Lakers will have the opportunity to keep him. He’s not even scratching the surface of his prime. He’s only 25.

A lot of people look at teams around the league and wonder where it would come from. A lot of people try to connect logical dots with Orlando and Fred VanVleet because Jeff Weltman was in Toronto, but I don’t know if I see that as much for him. To me, a guy like Reaves would theoretically fit their timeline more, given the age of their roster and his ability to shoot. I have heard Orlando will look to upgrade their shooting this offseason.

Everybody thinks James Harden to the Rockets has a real shot. But if that doesn’t happen, where do you go from there? Do you make a big offer sheet for Reaves? These are scenarios I think that are plausible, but only time will tell whether they come to fruition.

Buha: The Lakers are going to match any contract offer sheet that he signs up to that $100 million. The Lakers view him as the third-best player on this team if you look at the regular season and postseason he had. He stepped up big time and was basically an 18-5-5 guy with near 50-40-90 shooting splits as a starter for them. There were several factors as to why the Lakers made that second half run, but chief among them – and maybe the biggest factor overall – was Reaves’ ascension.

I think the Lakers are going to retain him. Obviously, their preference would be to sign him to the four-year, $54 million deal. I’ve heard that there are going to be multiple suitors out there in talking with people around the league. You mentioned Orlando and Houston. I’ve heard San Antonio could be a dark horse team that will try to poach Austin from the Lakers.

He’s priority No. 1 for the Lakers this offseason. I think they learned from the Alex Caruso situation. Frankly, I think this would be a bigger disaster than Caruso because Reaves is a better player, and he’s shown more.

You mentioned $80 million, and $80-85 million is where teams think the Lakers might have to think about it and maybe call their bluff. Again, from what I’ve heard from the Lakers’ side, they’re matching all the way up to $100 million.

Scotto: I think D’Angelo Russell’s situation is a lot more uncertain (than Reaves). Previously, I think there were rumblings out there that he was hoping for $25 million annually. That was when he was with Minnesota, and they came lower than that at what I believe was $20 million annually. He ends up getting traded to L.A. and loves it while shooting the ball well. In the playoffs, it was a bit more rocky for him. At the end of the day Russell is still a good player. You know what you’re getting, 16-18 points and six or seven assists.

Is this a scenario where he signs a short-term deal with the Lakers, or does he get a sign-and-trade elsewhere? I’m looking at the cap space teams, and Indiana has their backcourt, Orlando, in theory, could have interest, but I don’t necessarily see it, and the same thing with Oklahoma City. Houston has other guys they’re prioritizing, starting with Harden. I don’t know about the Spurs or Utah. Detroit has an overflow of guards.

Buha: I think, based on the conversations I’ve had, I don’t know where the market is for him. I think that gives the Lakers leverage in that he may have initially wanted that $25 annually, but he didn’t play up to that level. Secondly, where is the competition for his services? I think Russell proved he’s probably more of a $17-20 million guy.

I think it’s the pivot point of the offseason for them because we’ve mentioned Kyrie. Fred VanVleet is also out there. The Lakers could also pivot technically and let Russell walk, sign-and-trade him, or go for a mid-level exception type of point guard and maybe bring back Dennis Schroeder at that number. Ultimately, if you see a change on this roster, it’s probably coming at the point guard spot at the expense of Russell.

If he wants a certain number, whether it’s closer to $25 million, maybe you go shorter term and give two years, $50 million, and you’re on the same timeline as LeBron and Anthony Davis… I suspect a two or three-year deal. I think re-signing him is the most likely outcome.

Scotto: Rui Hachimura has some flashes in the playoffs that bode well for his free agency stock. L.A. didn’t trade three second-round picks to acquire him and let him walk in free agency. I do think he’s going to be back.

Buha: Similarly to Reaves, I’ve heard the Lakers plan on matching any contract offer sheet Hachimura signs… I’ve heard different numbers on Rui. Initially, I heard he turned down a contract extension offer from Washington that was in that $14-15 million range (annually)… He stepped up big time in the playoffs. If Austin was their third-best player most nights, I’d say Rui was their fourth-best player most nights… I think his market is anywhere in that $15-18 million range annually. In that range, the Lakers would retain him. I think where it gets a little dicey is if there’s a team that sells themselves on Rui and offers three years, $60 million or four years, $80 million.

Buha: Lonnie’s situation is a bit of a tricky one. First, there’s the Klutch Sports connection, which is always a factor with any Lakers guys… He played really well in the first half of the season. The second half of the season, they started Austin and brought in Malik Beasley. Troy Brown was playing well, and Lonnie fell out of the rotation. IN Game 4 against the Warriors, he potentially saved the Lakers’ season. I think that playoff performance and him re-emerging in the rotation bumps him up into that mini mid-level range again or the bi-annual exception on him. I think he’s in that $4-7 million range.

In his exit interviews, he made it clear he thinks highly of himself. He’s very confident. He wants a big role. From the Lakers’ side, they have his non-Bird Rights. I think he’s probably looking more at his role in his next contract that he’ll prioritize. I suspect he’ll end up elsewhere at a place where he can start or be a sixth or seventh man.

Scotto: The $4-6 million range for Lonnie Walker is interesting. One Western Conference executive said that to me too.

Scotto: Dennis Schroeder and Lakers coach Darvin Ham are close, dating back to their time with the Hawks, and there’s a trust factor. Ham went to Schroeder a ton in the playoffs, but L.A. will be limited in what they can offer him. I think his agent, Mark Bartelstein at Priority Sports, can get him a decent deal and more than what L.A. can offer him.

Regarding Malik Beasley, I thought when they first acquired him, I felt confident that they would pick up his team option. I’m not as sure now, given the way the season ended for him. Either way, if he hits the market as an unrestricted free agent, I think he’ll have suitors. There are always suitors looking for shooters. He’s still young and was the top three-point shooter off the bench this year.

With Mo Bamba, the Lakers need size, he’s young, and they can always pick up his option and then flip it down the line and move him as an expiring contract.

Buha: Schroeder was the safety blanket at times for Ham. They can use part of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which goes to about $12.2 million on Dennis. Otherwise, I think he’s gone. He could start for some teams or be one of the better backups in the league. He’ll have suitors.

With the other two (Beasley and Bamba), ideally, the Lakers would love to keep them. But again, as we’re talking about money, $16.5 million for Beasley and $10.5 million for Bamba are figures I think that are too high for L.A. with what they’ll have to pay Austin, Rui, D’Angelo, and potentially Dennis. I think L.A. is looking at it like they can opt them in and trade them on draft night or down the road or decline Beasley’s options and waive Bamba.

MORE: Lakers offseason primer: Austin Reaves free agency, Anthony Davis extension, Kyrie Irving option, more

You can follow Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) and Jovan Buha (@JovanBuha) on Twitter.