Currently, all teams in the league are actively preparing for the upcoming free agent trading market, striving to sign their favorite players in this no-smoking battle to achieve a better record in the new season. Recently, the trading market has been constantly changing, and it is worth taking a look at it.
The transaction of Westbrook has become the focus of major media. After the transaction with the Nets failed, Lakers management almost lost the possibility of trading Westbrook. Earlier today, Westbrook made the decision to exercise his $47.1 million player option for the new season and return to the Lakers. There is no doubt that Westbrook's execution of the player option has made it more difficult for the Lakers management to operate in the future. They may have to continue to cooperate for another season. The good news is that Westbrook, who is already in his contract year, is expected to get an early contract extension. If this contract is signed, it will create a historical record.
According to the labor agreement, after Westbrook implements the player option next season, he will be eligible to sign a four-year early contract extension with the Lakers worth US$221 million. The final year of the contract will have a salary of US$61.27 million. It is worth noting that the four-year, US$221 million contract is the largest four-year contract in NBA history. At the same time, Westbrook will also be the first player in NBA history to receive a salary of more than US$60 million. Previously, Curry signed a four-year, 203 million-dollar lifetime contract with the Warriors, , and his final year's salary was only US$59 million.
Of course, if Westbrook has the expected chemical reaction with James and Davis in the new season, it is not impossible to get this early contract extension. According to previous reports, new coach Ham has formulated a tactical system for Westbrook and is sure to integrate the latter into the team. It is worth looking forward to!
