Lakers agree to new deal to bring back Max Christie as free agency starts off slowly
In previous years, it was customary for several already-agreed-to contracts to be revealed as soon as the NBA’s free agency officially started.
That wasn’t the case this year.
Many teams agreed to new deals with their free agents as part of a new league rule that organizations could start negotiating with upcoming free agents who finished the 2023–24 season on its roster the day after the NBA Finals ended on June 17. The Lakers were one of the teams who agreed on a new deal with one of their free agents.
The franchise and Max Christie came to terms on a four-year, $32 million contract, with the final year of the deal being a player option, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported.
Christie was slated to become a restricted free agent at 3 p.m. PT on Sunday, when teams were officially allowed to start negotiating deals with free agents not previously on their rosters, but the Lakers and Christie agreed to a new contract an hour before that negotiating period opened up.
The 6-foot-5, 21-year-old Christie, who doesn’t turn 22 until next February, was the Lakers’ second-round draft pick in 2022 (No. 32 overall).
He’s shown flashes of a 3-and-D skillset in his two seasons with the Lakers, specifically as an on-ball defender, spot-up shooter and defensive rebounder.
Since joining the Lakers, Christie’s averaged 3.8 points and two rebounds in 108 regular-season games (10 starts).
During new head coach JJ Redick’s introductory news conference last Monday, Redick and Lakers General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka mentioned Christie when discussing the organization’s player-development plans.
The Lakers entered free agency with $127.34 million in active salaries committed to 11 players signed to standard NBA deals for 2024-25.
This doesn’t factor in the cap holds for their free agents or expected 2024-25 salaries for their draft picks Dalton Knecht ($3.83 million) and Bronny James (around $1.16 million).
The league announced on Sunday that the salary cap has been set at $140.588 million for the 2024-25 season. The minimum team salary is $126.529 million. The tax level is $170.814 million while the first apron level is $178.132 million while the second apron level is $188.931 million.
If LeBron James re-signs with the Lakers as a free agent as expected, they’d eventually have 15 players signed to their roster, meaning the franchise would have to make trades or transactions to free up roster space to add other free agents.
The elder James’ maximum salary for 2024-25 could be around $49.9 million, but he’s reportedly willing to take a significant pay cut so the Lakers have the financial flexibility to add a significant player with the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception, which will be $12.82 million. James is expected to sign his new deal with the Lakers before Team USA’s training camp to prepare for this summer’s Paris Olympics starts next week in Las Vegas.
Notable free agents who’ve reportedly agreed to terms to sign with new teams: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Orlando Magic; three years, $66 million); Chris Paul (San Antonio Spurs, one year, $11 million); Jonas Valanciunas (Washington Wizards; three years, $30 million).
The Clippers on Sunday evening released a statement saying that nine-time All-Star Paul George, an unrestricted free agent, would not be re-signing with the franchise.
Klay Thompson, a four-time NBA champion and five-time All-Star, is expected to leave the Golden State Warriors after 13 seasons. The Lakers are reportedly supposed to have discussions with Thompson, along with the Mavericks, Clippers and 76ers.
The free agency moratorium, a period in which teams may not sign most free agents or make trades, runs from Sunday afternoon through 9:01 a.m. on Saturday.