LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are entering negotiations with a clear message - either the max deal, or an explanation why not. As ESPN insider Brian Windhorst writes, the 41-year-old superstar's camp wants full transparency on how the Lakers will build the team next season, even if the decision ends up being a smaller deal for LeBron.

LeBron still prefers Los Angeles and will play his 24th season in the NBA. But "prefer" is not "must". Windhorst points out that if the Lakers do not put the max on the table, the team has to explain which players they plan to bring in with the cap space they keep. In other words - show the plan or pay.

The LeBron-Dončić pairing is the biggest potential on the eastern shoulder of the league, but also the biggest risk. Both play under the same system, both need the ball, and both are aging at different paces. If the Lakers do not bring in a real third name, the fifth game of the playoffs will not look any different from this season's - with an early exit.

Windhorst also runs through the alternatives. The Cleveland Cavaliers can theoretically sign LeBron for 3 million dollars - genuinely, that is the cap space they have. LeBron earned 54 million this season. No sensible agent will accept that kind of drop without some sort of sign-and-trade, which would require freeing up space in two teams at the same time. That is a summer scenario, not an evening one.