LeBron James has started contract extension talks with the Lakers as he enters the final year of his current deal in which he will earn $44.7 million.
Sports analyst Skip Bayless wondered why the four-time NBA champion, who became a billionaire this year, is not taking a pay cut in order for Los Angeles to have more cap space and build a better team which in turn would increase LeBron’s chances of winning another ring.
The co-host of UNDISPUTED brought up Spurs legend Tim Duncan as an example of a player who took less money in 2013 and 2014 ($10 million after making $20 million on his previous deal) to try and win a championship.
“Help me out: Why wouldn’t LeBron take far less $$$ from the Lakers to maximize chances to win 1 more ring??? He’s a BILLIONAIRE. In 2013 and ’14, Tim Duncan took only 10 mil! Spurs should’ve won both years. Another reason why Duncan was more valuable than LeBron ever has been,” Bayless tweeted.
There are more examples of stars sacrificing to give cap space for their teams to improve. This offseason James Harden took a pay cut under his new contract in order to fr the 76ers to build a better roster.
