“He’s always held on to the power, he’s never cashed in his chips too soon” - Skip Bayless says LeBron James has done a masterful job of controlling his fate
LeBron James' future with the Los Angeles Lakers is quite uncertain. After winning only 33 games last season, the Lakers haven't done much to improve this summer. It could prove costly in the upcoming campaign.
James wants to win it all and get his fifth championship ring. Unfortunately, the Lakers may not be able to put him in that situation.
The 18-time All-Star is on an expiring contract and is eligible to sign a two-year extension on August 4. The extension would pay him $97.1 million, but James hasn't committed to it yet.
Skip Bayless believes that LeBron is doing the right thing for himself. Avoiding committing to two more years is possibly the best thing he could do.
"LeBron has done a masterful job of staying in control and in command of his fate," Bayless said. "He has always held onto the power. He's never cashes his chips too soon, he's always waited it out."
Bayless is known for criticizing LeBron James, so it's unusual that he's giving him credit. However, there is no doubt that the NBA analyst is right.
LeBron James has never been traded in his career
Every NBA team could use LeBron James' incredible basketball skills. He is a fantastic leader, a great scorer, and his court vision is incredible. This is why no team has traded him yet, but James has never requested a trade either.
.@RealSkipBayless on whether LeBron will sign a 2-year extension with the Lakers:
"LeBron has done a masterful job of staying in control and in command of his fate. He's held onto his power and never cashes his chips too soon." https://t.co/Uqgpk702wy
Despite all the criticism that LeBron James gets, he should get credit for always sticking to his teams. This is precisely what Skip Bayless pointed out, saying:
"You don't have to extend, you can just let it play and play and play out," the NBA analyst said. "You could become a completely free agent, which he's done before and worked the system beautifully."
As the situation with the Cleveland Cavaliers worsened, LeBron played through his entire contract and signed with the Miami Heat as a free agent. When the Heat began falling apart, he returned to Cleveland as a free agent once again.
James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency too, and will most likely become a free agent next summer as well.
LeBron has taken advantage of the system
LeBron James has never given his teams too much power over his contracts. He's always wanted to stay flexible and possibly move to another team in case things don't go well.
James has signed several long-term contracts in his career, but they've always had either a Player Option or an Early Termination Option. Before joining the Heat, the All-Star signed a six-year contract, but he opted out after four years.
.
In July of 2003, an 18-year-old LeBron James became the youngest player in the NBA.
In July of 2022, a 37-year-old LeBron is now the oldest player under contract in the league.
Two decades of dominance 👑. https://t.co/JQ9c6vfjAL
Skip Bayless also praised LeBron James' patience with contracts, saying:
"He's always had great patience to play the system the way it's set up to be played, pro-player, and he's taken a great advantage."
James wants to win and is always looking for the best possible situation for himself. The current situation in Los Angeles is far from good, which is why singing a contract extension wouldn't be the best idea.
Ultimately, the Lakers will have to retool their roster if they want to be competitive next year.