Following alleged failed attempts to recruit many supporting players, LeBron James is poised to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, $104 million contract. James, who opted out of his previous contract’s last year, will allegedly earn a player option in the second year of his new contract, which will also feature a unique no-trade clause, previously held by Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal in the NBA.
No-trade clauses are exactly what they sound like: players with an NTC in their contracts have the right to refuse any transfer that includes them. In James’ instance, if he decides to complete out his contract with the Lakers, he will do so until the franchise releases him. While no-trade clauses naturally offer the player enormous strength by allowing them to veto transactions, they also provide the player the opportunity to choose which team and what return they would get if they and the team were to make a trade involving them.
Now James, whose son Bronny James is also slated to make his NBA debut with the Lakers after being picked in the second round, will have formal influence over where he goes if he decides not to stay with the Lakers in the next year or two. Since James can opt out of the second year of his deal next summer, he might choose to sign with the Lakers on a new two-year contract with a no-trade provision. When he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, he employed a similar strategy: James signed ‘1+1’ contracts with Cleveland in 2014 and 2015, while the franchise obtained his early Bird rights.
While the Lakers have shown little to no interest in dealing James, there was some speculation throughout the season that the Lakers and Golden State Warriors had a brief talk regarding the possibilities of a trade including James. However, talks did not progress because the Lakers and James were apparently uninterested.
How LeBron James obtained a no-trade clause with the Lakers.
While the strength of the no-trade clause is one reason why they are so rare in the NBA — just 10 players in league history have had a real no-trade clause — another element is the set of standards that must be satisfied for a player to be eligible for the clause.
The first condition is that the athlete has played in the NBA for at least eight seasons. LeBron James, the league’s oldest active player, clearly meets the qualifications for that one. The second criteria is that the player requesting a no-trade clause has played at least four seasons with their present team, even if they are not consecutive. James, who signed with the Lakers in 2018, has already spent six seasons wearing purple and gold.
The last and most stringent criteria is that the player sign a new deal as a free agent. For example, if a player is under contract with his current team and signs a max extension before the end of his current deal — as James did with the Lakers in 2020 and 2022 — he and the organization cannot include a no-trade clause in the agreement. To earn a no-trade clause, the player must first become a free agent, even if only briefly, before signing a contract that includes the NTC.
Because most players sign extensions before their current deal ends, the last clause is why relatively few NBA players have no-trade clauses. Prior to James’ current agreement, Beal was the only player in the NBA with one. Beal was chosen by the Washington Wizards in 2012 and spent ten seasons with the team before declining his player option in the offseason of 2022. That allowed him to re-sign with the Wizards for a widely criticized five-year, $251 million max agreement that included a no-trade provision, which eventually helped him land with the Suns the following year.
When James ultimately signed a three-year, $100 million contract with the Cavs in 2016, he put a no-trade clause into the agreement, which became a cause of contention during James’ last season in Cleveland as the organization tried to surround him with quality. During the rocky 2017-18 season, James assured the media that he would not waive his NTC and let the Cavaliers move him. After the Cavaliers were defeated in the NBA Finals by the Golden State Warriors, James signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
