Lakers Free Agency Begins! LeBron James Opts Out, D'Angelo Russell Opts in, Max Christie Re-Signs.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Free agency kicked off Sunday, and while it's moving slower than previous seasons—thanks, new CBA—it wasn't without any action. But for the Lakers, the big stuff happened before the opening bell. First, LeBron James opted out of his contract, though with the assumption that he's going to come back. There's no risk now of him leaving (whatever risk there was disappeared once LA took Bronny in the 2nd round), but the wrinkle came in a report from ESPN's Dave McMenamin. James, he writes, is willing to take less money next year if the Lakers can use that money to land an impact player.

(The idea would be to give the Lakers the flexibility to use their full mid-level exception, as opposed to the smaller taxpayer version.)

So now the ball is in Rob Pelinka's court, because this willingness to take less only lasts until LeBron heads off for his Olympics camp. That's about a week. If nothing happens before then, LeBron presumably signs whatever deal he wants, which would likely be a max, three year contract.

Can Pelinka make something happen? It'll be tough. This free agent class doesn't have much depth, and the number of players who would be available for $13 million (about the mid-level) and still make a big impact are limited. As for trades, the Lakers have more options now than they did before, since D'Angelo Russell opted into the final year of his contract. (That's the second bit of big news that came down.) Had Russell opted out, the Lakers would have been far more limited, lacking not just Russell's contract to use in a trade, but also any sort of stability at a critical position.

The Lakers need to make moves, because the roster is currently full. All of the one-plus guys from last year—Wood, Reddish, Hayes—opted in, and with the inclusion of Bronny James on the regular roster, the Lakers are full. Particularly after they signed Max Christie to a four year, $32 million deal. Had to be done, but Pelinka is going to have to clear out spots if he's going to make material improvements to the roster.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: LeBron opts out, puts the pressure back on Pelinka.

SEGMENT 2: Does James care whether this makes Rob look bad?

SEGMENT 3: Max Christie returns!

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