The Los Angeles Lakers are officially back on the map.
In the most anticipated move of the NBA free agency period, Klutch Sports announced that the Lakers and free agent forward LeBron James have agreed to a four-year, $154 million contract.
The status of James has been the single hottest topic of the league for the last year, as multiple teams in both the Eastern and Western Conference angled to make enough cap room to afford James. But the Lakers were always looked at as the most favorable, due to the fact that they had enough cap room not just to sign James, but also bring in another superstar without tearing apart their roster.
While it seemed like a foregone conclusion for quite some time, no one knew exactly what James’ intentions were. As the free agency period began, James and his agent, Rich Paul, talked with Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman. And earlier today, Paul met with officials from the Philadelphia 76ers in Los Angeles. But, as we tweeted out earlier, it seemed pretty clear what was going to happen.
This decision sets LeBron up for his post-basketball career. His production company, SpringHill Productions, is located in Los Angeles; his family has a home in nearby Brentwood, and his oldest son, LeBron Jr., had reportedly committed to play his high school ball at nearby Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth.
If the Lakers are able to land a second max guy (they reportedly will be meeting with DeMarcus Cousins this week) and can pull off a trade for San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, they will be legultimately the biggest threat to the Golden State Warriors.
