LeBron's simply making a smart business move. TV deals may potentially see the NBA's cap being lifted even more by 2016, where LeBron can then sign an even more lucrative contract.
Is LeBron's max contract not tied to cap? A fixed percentage rather than fixed sum.
Higher cap = max contract increases proportionally with it.
Is that correct?
Max contracts for a player of Lebron's tenure are 35% of BRI, which is slightly less than 35% of the salary cap. They use a slightly different calculation to get the percentage.
Lebron can get 105% above his last yearly contract, plus this annual 4.5% raises. He basically is betting the league revenue will go up by more than 14% in two years. He might be right.
Edit: Actually, the 5% for new contract doesn't matter. So he is betting against about 9.7%.