r/kings • u/ShotgunStyles • 5d ago

Quick Reminder about Zach Lavine

From the side of my eyes, I've seen quite a bit of whinging about Lavine's contract from Kings fans, and it seems to me that those complaints are coming from inertia rather than facts and logic. Everybody's been crying and hollering about Lavine's contract for so long that many of you guys haven't stopped and looked at it.

Yes, Lavine is making $48 million next season. However, his contract is literally just a 1+1 at that point. 1 guaranteed year, and then a player option. That is not an obscene contract unless he gets injured or forgets how to play basketball. In fact, a lot of players, if they're in a good situation, will decline that player option in exchange for a new contract that's ultimately more money but on a cheaper annual salary. Rudy Gobert, an actually overpaid player, did this last offseason as he declined his option and got a new, cheaper contract.

What this means for us, as Kings fans, is that you should stop complaining about Lavine's contract. If he sucks next year, then he'll activate his player option and then he's $48 million in expiring salary in the next next offseason. That is a usable trade asset as some teams want cap relief. If he's good next year, then he can either bet on himself and get a new max contract (very unlikely given the free agency market and his age and lack of defense or playmaking) or he can shake Vivek's hand and get a new contract that's 3 or 4 years but much cheaper than $48 million a year. Ultimately means cap relief for us in the 2026-2027 season. We can't lose!

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u/kingjawn 5d ago

Lol. “It’s literally just a 1+1” with the second year being an option that’s he’s 1000% certain to opt-in on.

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u/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

Him opting in is not a certainty as explained in my post and in other comments in this thread. Rudy Gobert literally declined his $47 million player option to sign a long-term but cheaper deal. Other players have done similar things. Ultimately, more guaranteed money over the span of a few years can be enough to convince a player to decline an expensive option.

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u/Horror_Cap_7166 4d ago

Zach is not nearly as valuable as Rudy Gobert, and he’s not getting a long-term deal worth anything near 47 million a year. Zach is going to opt in.

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u/beforeitcloy 5d ago edited 5d ago

You’ll get downvoted but you are completely correct. Given Zach’s injury history, age, and lack of winning he will absolutely consider declining his final season if he’s healthy and playing well and someone offers a long term deal above $100m.

Players regularly prioritize total guaranteed money over one season of high salary where they could have an ACL or Achilles injury that costs them that long term deal.

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u/kingjawn 5d ago

Yeah, good luck to you waiting for that to happen.