Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — LeBron James is set to opt out of his current contract and hit free agency come July 1 (July 2 PHT), but he is expected to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a massive payday upgrade.
According to NBA insider Brian Windhorst, conventional wisdom suggests that James is set to return to his beloved Cleveland after coming so close to fulfilling his promise of giving the city an National Basketball Association (NBA) championship.
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James is planning to re-sign with the Cavs but will wait and see how the team's free agency plays out over the first weeks of July.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) June 28, 2015
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That championship may come at a steep price.
A max contract in the NBA is based on a certain percentage of the salary capped allocated to the players from the year the deal is signed.
Had LeBron signed a max deal with Cleveland last summer, he would have earned approximately $89 million over four years.
With the cap climbing up, signing James for the upcoming season in a max deal could cost the Cavaliers $130 million over a four year period.
Basketball Insider’s Tommy Beer, breaks down how much James could potentially earn should he secure a max deal for the upcoming season.
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Correction: Cavs would have Early Bird rights, so here's the annual breakdown of a 2016 4-yr max contract for LeBron: pic.twitter.com/NyqFxoR14E
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) June 28, 2015
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Apart from James, it is believed that Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, and Iman Shumpert are set to test free agency as well.
If the Cavs want to retain the makeup of the team that has gotten them to the NBA finals for the first time since 2007, they might have to test how deep their pockets can go.
