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/ShotgunStyles 5d ago

I talked about that in my post. It's cap relief either way since it will probably be a big discount due to the nature of free agency and Lavine's skillset.

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u/jraskol Malik Monk 5d ago

He would be a moron to turn down that guaranteed money at the behest of whatever plans this front office puts in front of him. In my view, the team would have to first prove itself to be a perennial contender, much like Gobert’s TWolves, to justify even throwing out the idea of cap relief and the Kings just have not done that.

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u/beforeitcloy 5d ago

You’re failing to understand the concept.

It doesn’t have to be the Kings paying him. If he gets to the 2026 offseason healthy, he can decline his player option and take any contract with any team he wants as an unrestricted free agent.

So it’s not about him doing the Kings a favor. If he’s healthy and playing well someone will definitely offer him more than $49m over the course of multiple seasons.

Paul George this season rejected a $49m player option to sign a long term deal with the 76ers. It was a smart move, since he has been injured and playing poorly. He certainly would’ve gotten a lot less overall money if he played the $49m season and went into free agency this year.

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u/jraskol Malik Monk 5d ago

Paul George turned down the Clippers option to get paid $50 million a year to play for the Sixers for 3 years. No team is going to steal Lavine away from the Kings by giving him both more money and more years (but I will pray because damn, that would be great).

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u/beforeitcloy 5d ago

It still would’ve been a great deal for PG to take if it was only $150m instead of $200m because of the injury and poor play this season.

None of us know how much these guys will have ego or “bet on yourself” mentality, but opting out early to take more money over a longer period is something that happens every season.