Training for Luka Doncic made plenty of sense from the Los Angeles Lakers' perspective, but it somewhat threw off the 2024-25 season.
The Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs again, a concerning sign as they were hopeful to make a championship run with Doncic and LeBron James on the roster.
It was clear that the Lakers needed help next to James and Doncic, and the hope is for them to accomplish that this offseason.
Rob Pelinka said on Thursday that he's hoping to do whatever James wants the team to do, but there could be some confusion in doing that after the latest report from Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
According to Buha, after taking a pay cut last season, James doesn’t plan to do so this time around.
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“If James returns to the Lakers, though, league sources say he’s not expected to consider the kind of pay cut that was in play around this time a year ago. Last summer, James took a discount of approximately $2.7 million to help the Lakers stay under the second apron and maintain roster flexibility.
“James considered taking an even steeper pay cut to help the Lakers land an impact player in free agency, with James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson and Jonas Valančiūnas on his list, league sources confirmed. The Lakers didn’t land any of them, and James instead signed for closer to his max,” he wrote.
Any fewer dollars on the book would help the Lakers, especially with the second-round situation.
The Lakers want to make sure they avoid that at all costs moving forward, as it limits what they can do in trades and free agency.
However, James, who already took a pay cut, seemingly doesn't want to again. If that ends up being true, he can't be too upset if the Lakers don't make all the moves he wants.