LeBron James Isn't Abandoning His Son, Reportedly Signing Max Deal With Lakers In Most-Predictable Move Ever

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Make sure you're sitting down before reading this, but in one of the most shocking moves in the history of sport, LeBron James has reportedly decided to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers just days after the franchise drafted his son, Bronny. Oh, and another thing, he won't be taking a pay cut to help free up some cap space for the team despite rumors of him potentially doing so.

If you didn't pick up on the satire there, I'm sorry about that, but yes, LeBron will be staying put with the Lakers to play alongside his son and will be paid on a max deal along the way. 

LeBron James had an immature reaction to the Nuggets beating the Lakers in game three. Watch a video of his reaction. (Credit: USA Today Sports Network)

LeBron James is staying put with the Lakers, just as everyone predicted. (Credit: USA Today Sports Network)

NBA insider Shams Charania was the first to report that James will be staying in Los Angeles and signing a two-year, $104 million max contract.

The weeks and weeks spent by talking heads suggesting that James may leave the Lakers was a giant waste of time and everyone, including those pushing the idea, knew it. The franchise drafting Bronny in the second round of the NBA Draft undoubtedly played a role in his decision to stick around, despite his agent, Rich Paul, bluffing about the scenario last month.

"LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny," Paul told ESPN two weeks ago. "If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, he [LeBron] will re-sign. If that was the case, I would force them to take him at 17. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny and LeBron doesn’t re-sign."

Looking back on it, that may be one of the funniest comments an agent has ever made.

This is the only way this was going to play out. Bronny James was going to be a Laker, LeBron was going to use his son as leverage, and then he was going to ink the largest deal possible while mentoring his son at the end of the bench.

And to be clear here, nobody should be slandering LeBron for this move, at least not with a straight face.

If you were an NBA player and had the opportunity to play on the same team as your son you'd do everything in your power to make that happen. If you claim you wouldn't, you're just lying.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.