The Los Angeles Lakers have had a lot of success this season, and for once in a while, it hasn't been soley because of LeBron James. For the past few years, if James wasn't on the court or wasn't on his A-game, the Lakers would probably be in trouble. Now, with Luka Doncic and the rise of Austin Reaves, James has been able to take backseat and still contribute to the Lakers winning.
Which has been the case for most of his career, James has been the best player on the team, but he hasn't been paid like it. When thinking about what next season could look like for him as far as contract, some would think that he would take a discount, but with how underpaid he's been throughout his career, he might ask for more than expected.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst sees where James is coming from as far as being underpaid, and he shared his thoughts about the ordeal on the Ryen Russillo Show.
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“He was in his 12th season before he was the highest paid player on his team. There were times when he was tied for the highest paid salary to be clear, but it was his 12th season,” Windhorst said. “That was one of the things in 2014 when he was making the decision to come to Cleveland, one of the only messages Rich Paul was willing to say to teams was LeBron will be making the max.”
Windhorst then noted that what James is making now with the Lakers probably doesn't match up to his value on the court and what he's done for them.
“LeBron’s been very attuned to maximizing his salary because he’s felt he was underpaid,” Windhorst continued. “And he felt he was underpaid for the middle part of his career there. And he was like, I’m going to make sure I get taken care of. I don’t blame him because even now at $50 million, what his value to the Lakers is, is probably not accurate.”