After more than a month of waiting, LeBron James and the Cavs have finally come to agreement on a contract. While James getting his maximum salary was never in doubt, the length of the contract was.
Now we know: three years, $100 million. He will be the highest-paid player in the NBA for the first time in his career next season, then potentially have the largest contract in NBA history in 2017-18 at $33 million. He has an option for the final year, meaning he likely will hit free agency next in 2018 at age 33.
MORE: Could LeBron see a dip in production next season?
The decision cost James some money in the future. Had he signed a one-year deal with an option for a second year, as he did in his first two seasons back with the Cavaliers, James finally could have landed a full maximum five-year contract next offseason, assuming the Over-36 Rule is changed. (He would have sacrificed about $3.4 million this season, though.) That hypothetical 2017 deal would have come as the salary cap leapt from $94 million to $102 million, meaning he would have made more money for 2017-18 and 2018-19. Alas, he went with security and avoided having to continue to play these annual option games.
The money still is unprecedented, after all. The far more interesting implications of James’ decision come in the uncertainty of the future. The NBA and its players already have begun discussions on a new collective bargaining agreement that will take effect next summer. Part of those discussions likely will be the existence and limits of maximum contracts.
The NBA’s relatively low maximums helped facilitate the formation of both Miami’s trio (including James) in 2010 and the Warriors’ addition of Kevin Durant this summer. The most likely shift in max calculations in a new CBA would be to move them up to make super teams less feasible. Naturally, any shift there would have affected James if he were a free agent in 2017. However, even as vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, James made the decision to avoid immediate free agency, perhaps a sign that such changes are no guarantee.
MORE: Keeping track of all the moves in free agency
The contract also opens up a truly fascinating option. Over the course of their careers, the friendship between James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul has generated intrigue, cresting with the banana boat pictures last summer and an impactful ESPY Awards discussion of race and action this summer. By signing a "2+1" contract instead of a "1+1," James’ free agency lines up with all three of those friends’ existing contracts. (Paul and Wade could either opt in for the final years of their deals or sign their own "1+1" contracts next summer to make it work.)
As has been the case throughout their playing careers, any combination of that foursome would presumably require significant financial sacrifice from the group collectively or individuals specifically. After all, each of them will be eligible for the highest level of maximum contract, about 35 percent of the salary cap. However, all four have made significant money during their careers and could justify giving up some salary in the short or long term to play together. That "banana boat" combination could happen for many franchises, too, given that they have two years to plan for it.
Then again, James and Paul would be 33, Anthony 34 and Wade 36. The latter three — and possibly James as well — likely all would want to score their final long-term deals at that point, rather than risking injury or depressed numbers playing alongside so many other stars. Any team looking to build around a group that old could be setting itself up for a difficult future, as the Lakers found in 2012-13 when they tried to unite Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol and relative youngster Dwight Howard, who was coming off back surgery.
Of course, all of that is looking far ahead. James could have seen the benefit of maximizing his 2016-17 salary as the primary consideration, and this contract certainly does that and likely does so for the next two seasons combined. However, the "convenient" timing of Wade and James’ extensions led to them both being free agents in 2010. The stars seem to be aligning once more.