“What happens to expiring contracts in the NBA? They’re viewed as trade pieces”

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Transcript

00:00When the idea of a trade came up, I slammed the door on it and said,

00:03first off, LeBron wants to be a Laker. If he didn't want to be a Laker, he opted out.

00:07He has a no-trade clause, everything that Bontemps just said.

00:11Over the last three days, I have unlocked the door.

00:14I wouldn't say that I'm opening the door. I would just say I've unlocked the door.

00:18The door I slammed and locked on Sunday, I'm not 100% sure.

00:23And that is because my conversations over the last three days have crystallized that

00:30the Lakers are essentially viewing LeBron as an expiring contract.

00:35And that may sound like a toss-off statement, but that's not insignificant.

00:41LeBron has never been an expiring contract, quite literally.

00:44Never in his 23-year career, over the nine contracts he's signed, over all the different teams he's been on.

00:50He's never been on the last year of his contract.

00:52He's never been 40 years old. He's never not been the franchise player on his team.

00:57The Lakers and LeBron, whoever wants to spin their side of the story, I'm not sure what happened.

01:03But the Lakers and LeBron did not have substantive discussions about extending his contract,

01:10which every team LeBron's been on for 20-something years has wanted to have substantive conversations

01:15about extending his contract.

01:17And what happens to expiring contracts in the NBA?

01:20They're viewed as trade pieces.

01:22So, for all those reasons, you know, the money, the fact that LeBron and Luka are still a very formidable duo,

01:30the fact that the Lakers are not done with their offseason,

01:32the fact that trading him is crazy, the fact that this is being built around Luka

01:36and they've got to maintain their cap sheet, and all of those things.

01:39Everything of that makes sense.

01:41But I'm just unlocking the door, because I'm not as convinced as before of its impossibility.

01:46It's impossibility.