Could LeBron James' Desired Future Contract Ruin The Lakers?

Should the Lakers keep James around for as long as he wants?

One of the biggest storylines to watch as the offseason unfolds for the Los Angeles Lakers is what they will do with superstar LeBron James. James has the chance to become a free agent this summer and will be looking for even more money on any renewed deal.

With this, it could have the Lakers paying a 40-year-old James over $50 million a season, something that could limit their chances to build a winning team. While James is still a very good player, there have been questions about whether or not Los Angeles should make this investment.

On the Bill Simmons Podcast, Ryen Russillo discussed what the Lakers should do with James coming up. His line of thinking was that it's better to keep James around right now, even if it becomes a problem down the line.

"I think having LeBron around and playing as well as he did this past year, being relevant is a much better option than being irrelevant, even feeling like you're going to have to get in front of it."

Even in year 21, James was still one of the better players in the entire NBA. He isn't the same guy that he once was but he can still take over a game when needed. While paying him a large sum of the cap space may not be the best idea, the Lakers likely feel like they aren't too far away from truly competing.

"There's just a lot of stuff that I don't know if I'd wanna do but being in LA, being relevant and the way that front offices go 'hey a bounce here, a bounce there, we got a bad matchup in the first round and all the stuff at least we know 24-25, we'll have a pretty good team, a better coach, tweak here, tweak there."

If Los Angeles can find a way to improve the team for next season, they may have a chance. But the Western Conference is only getting better and the Lakers are getting older.

For them to have any shot, they not only have to get the coaching hire correct but the front office has to find a way to upgrade the roster heavily. With James making the money he will make, it will be tough but it's better to have him on the team rather than try to look for someone else that isn't going to be even as good as he is in year 22.

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