Report: LeBron James to sign two-year, $104 million max deal to return to Los Angeles Lakers

LeBron James is headed back to the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, max deal according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

“JUST IN: LeBron James plans to sign a two-year, $104 million maximum deal to return to the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell The Athletic, Stadium,” Charania wrote on Twitter.

James opted out of his previous deal but was expected to return to LA, especially with son Bronny signing with the Lakers are being drafted with the No. 55 overall pick.

James just completed his 21st NBA season and will turn 40 years old at the end of December. The league’s all-time leading scorer hasn’t lost a step, averaging 25.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists while shooting 54% from the field.

The Lakers made some major changes after last season, though. They moved on from Darvin Ham and hired JJ Redick as head coach just before the draft, meaning his task will be not only developing Bronny James, but helping LeBron, Anthony Davis and Co. get back on track after two straight up-and-down seasons.

LeBron James all in with Los Angeles Lakers on max deal

It sounds like Redick, who spent the last couple years as an ESPN analyst, is ready for the pressure of coaching one of the best players of all-time. During his introductory press conference, he discussed his excitement to work with James – and the plan for the superstar to shoot more from downtown.

“With LeBron, you certainly have to get buy-in and talk to him about how he wants to play,” JJ Redick said. “Him and I have joked about this, but he shot over 40 percent from three this year. I want him shooting threes. He’s going to have his three or four busts every game where he gets out in transition and does things that no one at his age should ever be able to do, but he does it.”

Simultaneously, the Lakers will attempt to contend for a championship while developing certain pieces. That includes James’ son Bronny.

“More important than that is to talk about Bronny James as a basketball player, because this is his day and he was the one selected with the 55th pick,” GM Rob Pelinka said. “Bronny is first and foremost a person of high character and second he is young man that works incredibly hard.

“And those are the qualities that we look for in drafting players and adding to our developmental core with the Lakers. He had a great draft workout with us, where he displayed those qualities to me.”