Ex-Lakers superstar LeBron James could be forced to change $8M contract with the 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers shocked the NBA world when they pulled off a blockbuster trade for former Boston Celtics NBA champion Jaylen Brown. Philadelphia was able to take advantage of Brown’s complicated relationship with the Celtics to acquire the All-Star forward.

The 76ers had already put together a strong roster before adding Brown, making the move even more impressive. However, Philadelphia became even more dangerous over the weekend after LeBron James agreed to a deal.

“LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers for his final run at another NBA championship, he announced Friday,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin wrote. “James, 41, is signing a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option, Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul told ESPN's Shams Charania.”

Philadelphia is now focused on filling out the rest of its roster around James and Brown heading into the upcoming season. The 76ers wasted no time making moves, as they are reportedly set to finalize a deal with two-time NBA champion Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

“Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is negotiating a buyout with the Grizzlies and intends to sign with the 76ers, per Chris B Haynes. KCP joins Bron in Philly,” Bleacher Report posted.

Caldwell-Pope is a former teammate of James, as the two won an NBA championship together with the Lakers during the 2020 Bubble season. The two players are familiar with each other, which should make the transition smoother.

However, there is one potential issue standing in the way of finalizing James’ contract. ESPN’s Bobby Marks believes the structure of James’ deal may need to be adjusted because of Philadelphia’s salary-cap situation.

“If you sign a 1-year veteran deal, for cap tax purposes. $2.4 million counts against the cap, doesn’t matter if your 10 years of service, or 5 years of service… so when you do the math they’re hard capped at the first apron, that pushes them over the first apron by about 600,000,” Marks said.

Because of the cap implications, Philadelphia may have to restructure James’ contract in some way before the deal becomes official. James remains committed to joining the 76ers, but the final structure of his contract may not look exactly like the original two-year agreement.

This situation is worth monitoring as both sides determine the best path forward. There are multiple ways Philadelphia could potentially make the two-year deal work, but there may also be easier options available to get the contract finalized.

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