How much can your NBA team pay LeBron James next season? Complete cap salary guide with The King on the move

When LeBron James became a free agent in 2014, the entire NBA pursued him. I mean that literally. From "Return of the King," written by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin: "After midnight on July 1, 2014, Rich Paul's phone went hot with calls and texts. Within a few hours, all thirty teams had made contact, letting him know they were interested in his client." Everyone, and I mean everyone, wanted to employ LeBron James.

>James is not the same caliber of player today that he was in 2014, but his decision in 2026 will be driven by "happiness," not by money, according to ESPN. That theoretically opens the door to... well... everyone. Of course, money can be a driver of happiness. James knows that; he's a billionaire. Even if he's willing to play for cheap, he'd probably prefer to be paid appropriately for his stature. He has made max or max-adjacent salaries for 19 seasons now.

>So, with James making his fourth substantial foray into free agency, let's break down how much everyone can afford to pay him. We will be dividing the NBA's 29 non-Laker teams into four groups: teams with cap space, teams with all or part of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (up to $15 million or so), teams with the taxpayer mid-level exception ($6.1 million or so) and teams that can only offer the minimum ($3.9 million or so). Four quick notes before we begin:

>I'll start with the obvious question: Is there a world in which free agency goes poorly enough for the Lakers that they circle back? I think the answer is no... but say they give a restricted free agent a big offer sheet and it is matched. They'll be sitting on a mountain of cap space a week into July, when most of the free agents presumably will be gone. Maybe there's a way to mend fences for enough money. We won't consider that concept too closely here, though. Let's talk about the four other cap space teams.

>Teams: Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Mavericks, Warriors, Pacers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Pelicans, 76ers, Trail Blazers, Kings, Spurs, Wizards

>This is our biggest group, so let's just dive right in.

>Teams: Rockets, Timberwolves, Knicks, Magic, Suns, Raptors, Jazz

>We're starting to whittle the field down here. Some of these teams are pretty straightforward. Others are more complicated.

>And so we're left with three teams. Two of them are contenders with whom James would immediately enter the championship picture. The last is the sentimental homecoming, and since it's the most complicated, we'll save it for last.