May 13, 2026 • 8 mins
The big topic in the NBA world revolves around LeBron James once again. What's he going to do now? Come back to the Lakers? Or take way less money to go somewhere else? And what does this mean for Bronny?
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Around the sports. K T Queints has all the sports. Yes,
so what's uh, what's Lebron gonna do? That was pretty good.
Kevin sat at the table there. I could hear you
saying that in the breaker room walking in there, some
ladies making coffee. What is Lebron gonna do? Lebron's gonna do?
(00:27):
Are you following this closely? Kevin? No, Okay, I mean,
I know he's a free agent. I am. I'm fascinated,
but it I think it's one of the most interesting
stories in sports because you have a guy, and we've
talked about this, you have a guy who is arguably
the most popular player in the history of his sport.
He's in the discussion. He's still playing well into his forties.
(00:48):
Presumably this will be his last season. It could be
a farewell tour, which is a huge marketing bonanza for
any team he's on. But clearly, with Luca on the Lakers,
they're going in a different direction. It probably doesn't make
sense for Lebron to be a part of that team
because you can't have him Luca Austin Reeves end him
out there together because they're all terrible defensively at this point.
So really, the Lakers need to go in a different direction,
(01:11):
and so Lebron is free to go anywhere he'd like,
but very few teams would have the cap space to
just sign him unless he's willing to play at a
massive discount. So does he just walk away and retire
without fanfare? Or does he go to a terrible team
and get a big payday? Is he willing to go
be an inexpensive role player on a good team. It's
(01:33):
a fascinating situation. Yeah, And at the heart of all
of it, like, you know, he could go be a
Bowl or a Brooklyn Net if he wanted to be,
Like this, is that how he wants to end his career?
Do you guys know how long he's been a Laker?
Eight years? Eight years, longest stretch with any team, right,
I think that's right, consecutively? Right? Like I think he
played in Cleveland for more than eight years, but it
(01:54):
wasn't consecutively. I could be wrong about that. I'd have
to go back and add those years up. But does
he want that? Like, does he want to go get
as much money as he can on a team that sucks? Okay,
So then we go to the next step. Does he
want to go. Does the greatest player of all time?
(02:14):
Arguably who did y'all saw his numbers? Did you know?
He was like the he basically since Reeves and Luca
got hurt. I don't have the numbers in front of
but he was like the only player in the NBA
from that date to have five hundred points three hundred.
I mean, like he had these incredible numbers at the
age of forty one. He put the team on his
(02:37):
back do and carried them to a first round victory
over the Rockets at in his forties. So he's still
showing he can do all that. Does that guy with
that reputation, that pet degree, that legacy want to go
to a team and make more less than PJ. Washington
junior man? I think he should. He makes so much
money off the court. It's easy for me to say.
(02:59):
I know these guys massive egos, but if I was Lebron,
I would be looking at it. I would want to
go to the best possible team and have the biggest
possible role. I don't think I would want to go
be a six man or come off the bench or
anything like that, right, And I wouldn't want to go
to a terrible team. I wouldn't worry so much about
the salary if I was him. I don't know if
(03:20):
that's his way to get down, but I wouldn't worry
about that. I personally wouldn't worry about it either, But
I would wouldn't have worried about it a long time ago. Yeah,
like he's worth a he's worth a billion. I would
have quit caring about that ten years ago, right because Dirk.
Dirk was that way. Not saying everybody should be like Dirk.
I mean, and everybody should be like Dirk. But Dirk
took massive pay cuts, was never really worried about the
(03:40):
money as much as he wanted to have the ability
to contend as a team. And I bet Dirk regrets
that horribly. I can't tell you how I'd be if
I had that much money. Yeah, it's hard to say
because you're in this strange stratosphere. Maybe he should go
to Cleveland, I mean there, that's the way. That would
be the way to do good answer, Okay, so go
to Cleveland and he go there on the veteran minimum
(04:02):
and make one point seven or whatever whatever. Finish the story, though,
he should he should go do that. I think I
think there would be symmetry to that. I thought he
would either end up in Cleveland or Golden State, because
I think that there he could put together. We're doing
one last run the greatest players of our generation. We
won an Olympic gold medal together. Now we're going to
(04:24):
do it one last time. But if he's going to
go to those places, so first of all, the Lakers
have to be willing to help him to get the contract.
Or he's going to go take the veteran minimum of
one point something a couple million. All right, well he's
going to do that. If he's going to do that,
the teams line up, Yeah, oh yeah, Rand the Mavericks
would be in the mix. Irie. Hey man, let's there's
(04:46):
some symmetry here too. Let's end it together. If the
guy who made fifty two million last year is willing
to play for two I take every team in the
league lines up. So then there's this thing from this
Dave mcminnimon story about all this because did you guys
know he took a pay cut? Uh when he signed
his last Laker deal. Davi Minimon did, no, Lebron did, okay? Uh?
(05:07):
He took over the course of the deal he took
a two point seven million dollar pay cut so that
they so they wouldn't be under the second apron, and
obviously Broni got his deal. A source familiar with James's
thinking told ESPN that the Lakers approach and how they
show their interest in retaining him will be a factor
(05:27):
beyond the simple dollar amount. The Lakers can't just offer
James in number. They have to offer a y behind
that number. LA's roster during James's tenure told ESPN their
plan for any discount would have to be coherent. So
I'll consider last time I did take that two point
(05:48):
seven million dollar. I took that two percent discount last
time to keep us under the second apron and also
maintain my son. So what are you coming at me
this time? Meanwhile, Luca's making it publicly known that he
wants them to keep Austin Reeves, who's in line for
a giant payday pay increase. So the Lakers are going
(06:09):
to have to go to Lebron and go, hey, we're
giving a giant increase to Austin Reeves, and we would
like you to take a fifty eight percent discount because
we don't prioritize you anymore, Right, But do they go
to him say, look, we're going to sign you the
minute you're retired to a lifetime contract. I know they
can't do that, but can't they wink wink, wink, and
(06:31):
we're going to pay an exorbitant amount per year for
the next thirty years. I mean, I don't think they
would be able to get away with that. You know,
Minnesota tried that with Joe Smith and it blew up
in their face. I don't think they'd be able to
get away with that. But right now, he's just offended
by the way the Lakers have treated him. There's a
story in there that he got offended that on the
(06:51):
night he became like the old time leading score passing
cream Abdul Jabbar, they gave the game ball to jj
Reddick go walked in and gave the game ball to Reddick,
and Lebron's like what So one of the big questions
is where does he want to be when his playing
days are over? Right? Yeah, I mean he's going to
be in LA. That's why I think after having said
(07:12):
all this, will the Lakers facilitate a deal to make
him a Clipper? Oh? Really, he wouldn't have to move
he could go into his career with Kawhi. Okay, well,
it is a fascination. When will we get some closure
on this? Not until in July? All right, we'll stand
by for that. We'll have many Lebron conversations along the way.
Coming up next, it's the Today game right here on
(07:33):
the Eagle. Before we get there, thank you to Orchard
dot com. When you go to Orchard dot com, go
get a free appraisal to find out what your home
is worth. They're gonna say, how'd you find out about Orchard?
Be sure to say radio and then k E G L.
Because imagine finding your dream home and moving in right
away when you don't have to wait to sell your
old place. That's what we're talking about. That's exactly what
orchards move first sell later program. Let you do buy
(07:54):
your new home now and sell the old one later.
And here's how it works. Orchard gives you cash so
you can buy and move into your new home first
on your timeline, no waitings, no showings, and no double moves. Yeah,
you're going to absolutely love working with Orchard because the
agent over there is going to handle everything for you.
They give you the cash so that you can buy
(08:14):
and move into your new home. They do all the
listings and the showings and everything that goes into that.
They go to help you attract the right buyers. You
just move on. That's the beauty of all this. Orchard's
Move First program gives you the freedom to buy and
move into your new home first, and sell your old
home laters. See what it's all about with a guaranteed
free offer right now from Orchard dot com. That's Orchard
(08:34):
dot com. Go and get your offer right now while
you're there. Say you heard about it on ninety seven
point one k egl the Eagle. When you go to
Orchard dot com
Around the sports. K T Queints has all the sports. Yes,
so what's uh, what's Lebron gonna do? That was pretty good.
Kevin sat at the table there. I could hear you
saying that in the breaker room walking in there, some
ladies making coffee. What is Lebron gonna do? Lebron's gonna do?
(00:27):
Are you following this closely? Kevin? No, Okay, I mean,
I know he's a free agent. I am. I'm fascinated,
but it I think it's one of the most interesting
stories in sports because you have a guy, and we've
talked about this, you have a guy who is arguably
the most popular player in the history of his sport.
He's in the discussion. He's still playing well into his forties.
(00:48):
Presumably this will be his last season. It could be
a farewell tour, which is a huge marketing bonanza for
any team he's on. But clearly, with Luca on the Lakers,
they're going in a different direction. It probably doesn't make
sense for Lebron to be a part of that team
because you can't have him Luca Austin Reeves end him
out there together because they're all terrible defensively at this point.
So really, the Lakers need to go in a different direction,
(01:11):
and so Lebron is free to go anywhere he'd like,
but very few teams would have the cap space to
just sign him unless he's willing to play at a
massive discount. So does he just walk away and retire
without fanfare? Or does he go to a terrible team
and get a big payday? Is he willing to go
be an inexpensive role player on a good team. It's
(01:33):
a fascinating situation. Yeah, And at the heart of all
of it, like, you know, he could go be a
Bowl or a Brooklyn Net if he wanted to be,
Like this, is that how he wants to end his career?
Do you guys know how long he's been a Laker?
Eight years? Eight years, longest stretch with any team, right,
I think that's right, consecutively? Right? Like I think he
played in Cleveland for more than eight years, but it
(01:54):
wasn't consecutively. I could be wrong about that. I'd have
to go back and add those years up. But does
he want that? Like, does he want to go get
as much money as he can on a team that sucks? Okay,
So then we go to the next step. Does he
want to go. Does the greatest player of all time?
(02:14):
Arguably who did y'all saw his numbers? Did you know?
He was like the he basically since Reeves and Luca
got hurt. I don't have the numbers in front of
but he was like the only player in the NBA
from that date to have five hundred points three hundred.
I mean, like he had these incredible numbers at the
age of forty one. He put the team on his
(02:37):
back do and carried them to a first round victory
over the Rockets at in his forties. So he's still
showing he can do all that. Does that guy with
that reputation, that pet degree, that legacy want to go
to a team and make more less than PJ. Washington
junior man? I think he should. He makes so much
money off the court. It's easy for me to say.
(02:59):
I know these guys massive egos, but if I was Lebron,
I would be looking at it. I would want to
go to the best possible team and have the biggest
possible role. I don't think I would want to go
be a six man or come off the bench or
anything like that, right, And I wouldn't want to go
to a terrible team. I wouldn't worry so much about
the salary if I was him. I don't know if
(03:20):
that's his way to get down, but I wouldn't worry
about that. I personally wouldn't worry about it either, But
I would wouldn't have worried about it a long time ago. Yeah,
like he's worth a he's worth a billion. I would
have quit caring about that ten years ago, right because Dirk.
Dirk was that way. Not saying everybody should be like Dirk.
I mean, and everybody should be like Dirk. But Dirk
took massive pay cuts, was never really worried about the
(03:40):
money as much as he wanted to have the ability
to contend as a team. And I bet Dirk regrets
that horribly. I can't tell you how I'd be if
I had that much money. Yeah, it's hard to say
because you're in this strange stratosphere. Maybe he should go
to Cleveland, I mean there, that's the way. That would
be the way to do good answer, Okay, so go
to Cleveland and he go there on the veteran minimum
(04:02):
and make one point seven or whatever whatever. Finish the story, though,
he should he should go do that. I think I
think there would be symmetry to that. I thought he
would either end up in Cleveland or Golden State, because
I think that there he could put together. We're doing
one last run the greatest players of our generation. We
won an Olympic gold medal together. Now we're going to
(04:24):
do it one last time. But if he's going to
go to those places, so first of all, the Lakers
have to be willing to help him to get the contract.
Or he's going to go take the veteran minimum of
one point something a couple million. All right, well he's
going to do that. If he's going to do that,
the teams line up, Yeah, oh yeah, Rand the Mavericks
would be in the mix. Irie. Hey man, let's there's
(04:46):
some symmetry here too. Let's end it together. If the
guy who made fifty two million last year is willing
to play for two I take every team in the
league lines up. So then there's this thing from this
Dave mcminnimon story about all this because did you guys
know he took a pay cut? Uh when he signed
his last Laker deal. Davi Minimon did, no, Lebron did, okay? Uh?
(05:07):
He took over the course of the deal he took
a two point seven million dollar pay cut so that
they so they wouldn't be under the second apron, and
obviously Broni got his deal. A source familiar with James's
thinking told ESPN that the Lakers approach and how they
show their interest in retaining him will be a factor
(05:27):
beyond the simple dollar amount. The Lakers can't just offer
James in number. They have to offer a y behind
that number. LA's roster during James's tenure told ESPN their
plan for any discount would have to be coherent. So
I'll consider last time I did take that two point
(05:48):
seven million dollar. I took that two percent discount last
time to keep us under the second apron and also
maintain my son. So what are you coming at me
this time? Meanwhile, Luca's making it publicly known that he
wants them to keep Austin Reeves, who's in line for
a giant payday pay increase. So the Lakers are going
(06:09):
to have to go to Lebron and go, hey, we're
giving a giant increase to Austin Reeves, and we would
like you to take a fifty eight percent discount because
we don't prioritize you anymore, Right, But do they go
to him say, look, we're going to sign you the
minute you're retired to a lifetime contract. I know they
can't do that, but can't they wink wink, wink, and
(06:31):
we're going to pay an exorbitant amount per year for
the next thirty years. I mean, I don't think they
would be able to get away with that. You know,
Minnesota tried that with Joe Smith and it blew up
in their face. I don't think they'd be able to
get away with that. But right now, he's just offended
by the way the Lakers have treated him. There's a
story in there that he got offended that on the
(06:51):
night he became like the old time leading score passing
cream Abdul Jabbar, they gave the game ball to jj
Reddick go walked in and gave the game ball to Reddick,
and Lebron's like what So one of the big questions
is where does he want to be when his playing
days are over? Right? Yeah, I mean he's going to
be in LA. That's why I think after having said
(07:12):
all this, will the Lakers facilitate a deal to make
him a Clipper? Oh? Really, he wouldn't have to move
he could go into his career with Kawhi. Okay, well,
it is a fascination. When will we get some closure
on this? Not until in July? All right, we'll stand
by for that. We'll have many Lebron conversations along the way.
Coming up next, it's the Today game right here on
(07:33):
the Eagle. Before we get there, thank you to Orchard
dot com. When you go to Orchard dot com, go
get a free appraisal to find out what your home
is worth. They're gonna say, how'd you find out about Orchard?
Be sure to say radio and then k E G L.
Because imagine finding your dream home and moving in right
away when you don't have to wait to sell your
old place. That's what we're talking about. That's exactly what
orchards move first sell later program. Let you do buy
(07:54):
your new home now and sell the old one later.
And here's how it works. Orchard gives you cash so
you can buy and move into your new home first
on your timeline, no waitings, no showings, and no double moves. Yeah,
you're going to absolutely love working with Orchard because the
agent over there is going to handle everything for you.
They give you the cash so that you can buy
(08:14):
and move into your new home. They do all the
listings and the showings and everything that goes into that.
They go to help you attract the right buyers. You
just move on. That's the beauty of all this. Orchard's
Move First program gives you the freedom to buy and
move into your new home first, and sell your old
home laters. See what it's all about with a guaranteed
free offer right now from Orchard dot com. That's Orchard
(08:34):
dot com. Go and get your offer right now while
you're there. Say you heard about it on ninety seven
point one k egl the Eagle. When you go to
Orchard dot com
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