The Lakers will enter Sunday’s free-agency period as one of the more interesting teams despite having a roster near capacity and, currently, limited means for improvement.
The greatest intrigue came Saturday when LeBron James, as expected, opted out of his contract with the Lakers to become an unrestricted free agent. According to people with knowledge of the decision not authorized to speak publicly, James plans to re-sign with the Lakers.
The only question is for how much?
According to reports, James would consider taking less money should the Lakers be able to lure a high-impact free agent with the full midlevel exception — a plan that could cost James more than $16 million next season.