James starts regular operations! Pelinka will face a challenge now, and the Lakers will be in trouble this summer

The playoffs, James' real shooting rate was 60.1% with a round usage rate of 26.2%. During the same period, among the 30 players with a round usage rate of no less than 25%, only Letters, Doncic, Leonard and Curry had higher true shooting rates than James.

James' offense is still dominant?

Average 4.4 points per game in the first quarter of the playoffs, ranked 34th in the league; 11.0 points per game in the second quarter, ranked 1st in the league. To put it more, Doncic averaged 10.6 points per game in the first quarter and ranked first in the league. In other words, if you only play 24 minutes per game in the series, the Lakers are the biggest favorite to win the championship.

From the side, James on the offensive end is still dominant, but only limited to the premise of physical strength.

When you talk about James, you can't let it go: When will you retire?

I think the contract worth 52.6 million will be executed as soon as possible in the 25-26 quarter. Not to mention that James is not short of money, how to deduct taxes is actually worth at least 10 million US dollars. To take a step back, the premise of complete guarantee is that you can even get the money by "fishing" in the new season.

Speaking of this, according to the NBA China official website: If James returns to the Lakers, he is not expected to accept a salary cut like he did last summer.

What is the situation?

With the option of 52.6 million players this summer, James is indeed likely to leave the Lakers. From the side, he has the initiative to stay or stay. Of course, it is also a common operation to expand your career trajectory - after entering the Palace Cavaliers twice, he started the contract mode with the 1+1 player option since the summer of 2016.

However, it is unlikely that James will leave Los Angeles, referring to factors such as family, Brownie, and even said that he is not. But one thing is important – you won’t accept salary cuts as you did last summer.

Based on this, in my opinion, Pelinka will face a challenge this summer, which is reflected in two aspects:

One, James' departure from the team

Although this possibility is slim, what if?

Because it is in the second level of luxury tax, this means that even if James chooses to leave the team, the Lakers will not release more than 20 million in salary space. Of course, this is not important. What’s important is that it’s difficult for Pelinka to find a replacement like James who has both combat power, influence and commercial value.

Considering that James is basically incapable of leaving the team, it can be said that Pelinka faces little challenge in this regard.

Of course, there is another possibility for James to leave the team, that is, signing and exchange.

Considering James' influence, it is not ruled out that some teams are willing to sign and exchange, even if it is only a short one or two-year right to use. At this time, it depends on how Pelinka maximizes its benefits in signing and exchange.

Aspect 2: No salary cuts

Now, this possibility is very high. The Lakers only have about 6 million in salary space this summer.

The salary space is limited, and you need to strengthen the inside and substitute. This is a difficult problem. Of course, you can take the trading route. But the problem is:

First, "Dong Zhan" is not traded. Reeves will have a largely low value in the playoffs this season, and the value of Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Vincent, etc. is not very valuable. To put it more, Kneckt was originally a good bargaining chip with the support of a rookie contract, but Redick deliberately did not give him a chance, which also caused his trading value to decline.

Second, Doncic's arrival makes the Lakers' long-range first round no longer as valuable as before.

Obviously, it will be difficult for Pelinka to complete reinforcement with limited chips when James will not cut his salary. In a more realistic situation, Doncic has had to strengthen his contract to win the hearts before he renewed his contract.

In summary, the Lakers will be very uncomfortable this summer. I mean, it is difficult to strengthen the chips with limited bargaining, but Doncic must strengthen it without renewing the contract. From another perspective, it is also a good test of Pelinka's ability due to many difficulties.