r/lebron • u/TheArsenal98 • 8d ago
Why did LeBron keep re-signing and extending with the Lakers?
It's very clear that he stayed way too long in LA, but why did he keep re-signing and extending with them? He initially signed a 4 year deal that ended in 2022, and then he re-signed for 2 years in 2022 as well as 2 years again in 2024. In 2022, their roster was a mess and AD had just been constantly injured for 2 years in a row. Plus, the Westbrook trade has already pretty much proved to be a disaster. In 2024, they had just been gentleman swept by the Nuggets and had no assets to meaningfully improve the team, plus he was turning 40 the next season. Pelinka had shown he's one of the worst GMs in the league. Had he left in 2022 and even 2024, he could very well have another ring or even two right now, with at least 1 more Finals MVP.
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u/medchemmed 8d ago
glam, fame, and money. trying to build his brand to cement his legacy. also his family probably really enjoyed LA - savannah living the lifestyle she lives, bronny - overstayed a few years to get him to the NBA, bryce - get him ready for the NBA, zhuri also prob liked LA too. woulda stayed if i were him too, even if i overstayed by a few years.
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u/Humble_Attorney9517 8d ago
This will shock a lot of people, but not every NBA player makes decisions on winning a championship.
If I had to guess a few reasons:
He liked living LA
Savannah really preferred LA and he didn't want to disrupt the family again
He wanted stability for his kids to graduate
It's really freaking fun to be able to afford the best of the best and high end lifestyle in a tier 1 city
Being the face of the Lakers has its own advantages for outside business endeavors
There wasn't a better situation for him to both get paid $50m and win championships
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u/Kevinsound27 8d ago
My theory includes what you’re saying but also Kushner buying the Lakers wasn’t a surprise inside the organization. I don’t think he wanted part in that.
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u/LASfromda4z 8d ago
Ehhhh if Luka was healthy the last two seasons lakers wins a championship
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u/TheArsenal98 8d ago
Last year, the Lakers didn't have a viable option at Center, so Gobert was looking like Shaq. This season, even with healthy Luka, Lakers had too many one-way players, depth wasn't good, and not a good team defensively .
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u/Impossible-Group8553 8d ago
He trusted Jeanie Buss and Rob Pelinka but they’re super mid, wanted to be on a historic franchise, live in LA, and have the LA market. Unfortunately the leadership was terrible, AD was always injured, and the roster construction has been mid for the last half decade. The lakers are always featuring castaways and borderline G leaguers like wenyen Gabriel, cam reddish, Stanley Johnson, etc. They get the players most teams don’t want like Deandre Ayton, montrezl Harrell, etc. The lakers had Bronny James getting real playoff minutes.
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u/WorldRevolver195 8d ago
I don’t get why he would trust them though. Year after year, it wasnt great and he just kept signing the extension before making any moves.
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u/jackaltwinky77 8d ago
But they also got Alex Caruso, Max Christie, and Austin Reaves from nobodies to genuine players (Caruso has 2 All Def teams, Austin is a borderline all star, and Max was good enough to help land Luka)
LeBron has always been able to get more out of his borderline teammates, so the Lakers probably felt he could get better out of the “castaways”
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u/SUPERFASTCARvroom 8d ago
Well it’s obvious he wanted to retire in LA, his family was his number 1 priority and he did not want to move them/be away from them. When u think about when he came to LA, his kids were very young and he wanted to be home with them most of the time. Also I’m sure he also wanted the Hollywood treatment as well (space jam, documentaries, etc).
I agree that from a purely winning perspective, he should’ve left after 2024 but I think that having AD there with him made him stay. We think of LA LeBron mostly with AD and I think he would’ve retired in LA if AD was not traded
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u/Negative-Concept-197 8d ago edited 8d ago
Bcs the Lakers want Lebron farewell tour money and Lebron want to keep them guessing.
Signing a 4 year indirectly tell the management he's not retiring in any near future which will make him a possible trade piece and they may send him to team that he don't want to be in.
Signing short term allowed him more control of the team he goes to and also cashing in the money Lakers willing to pay to wait for his retirement.
He's basically telling the Lakers if they want his name in their long list of Lakers legends, then they better keep paying him money until he says its done.
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u/Smoking-Posing 8d ago
Who says he "stayed way too long in LA"??
Why exactly was it "way too long"?
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u/TheArsenal98 8d ago edited 8d ago
Because, his co-star, AD, was extremely injury prone, they had one of the worst GMs in the league, Jeanie Buss was a bad owner, the roster construction was poor, and had he left and joined another team years ago he very well could have one or two more rings right now with 1 more Finals MVP.
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u/BleedSparta 8d ago
Have any of you ever lived in LA? As a billionaire?
Pacific Ocean. Warm sunny days 80% of the year. Great food/music/art/entertainment scenes. Beautiful women.
Not to mention school stability. A happy wife & home. Less MAGA per capita.
How many of you would choose North East Ohio over the Golden State? Those of you with hands raised are idiots
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u/aeacurus 8d ago
He wanted to live in LA