Free agency opened Tuesday evening, and LeBron James has been the most talked-about name on the market after informing the Los Angeles Lakers he would be moving on after eight seasons together.
Rich Paul, his agent and Klutch Sports CEO, has since fielded pitches from roughly a dozen teams. It’s reported that the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Miami Heat have been interested in signing the four-time champ for what could be his final season.
Which Team Could LeBron James Join?
“I don’t think this happens anytime soon. I don’t think it’ll be the next few days,” Rich Paul told Mark Medina recently.
Per ESPN’s Shams Charania, James has instructed Paul to take every pitch and bring back the options rather than narrowing the field prematurely. This will not be a financially-driven decision, Charania noted. James earned $52 million last season and has made clear he is not chasing another max contract.
What he is chasing is meaningful, competitive basketball in his 24th season, where he would be able to immediately contend for a chip.
On his Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul laid out a whiteboard of ten realistic destinations, and the picture it painted was genuinely wide open. Three teams have separated from the pack according to multiple sources: the Warriors, Cavaliers, and the Heat.
The Warriors’ pitch centers on Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Joe Lacob’s ownership, and the appeal of high-IQ basketball. Paul noted on the podcast that the golf would be “tremendous” with those guys.
Draymond Green, also Paul’s client, declined his $27.7 million player option specifically to give Golden State the financial flexibility. Whether that was done for the Dubs to pursue James remains to be seen.
Cleveland represents the sentimental option. James grew up in Ohio, won the city’s first major sports championship in 52 years in 2016, and has a personal relationship with Cavaliers assistant GM Brandon Weems that Paul described as “basically a brother.”
The Cavs made the Eastern Conference Finals this past season with Donovan Mitchell and a newly arrived James Harden leading the charge, and the roster is built to contend. Paul’s one noted downside? Darius Garland, a Klutch client and a player James loves, is no longer there after being moved in the Harden deal.
Miami already landed one of the greatest forwards of this generation in Giannis Antetokounmpo. They boast what may be the most compelling basketball argument of all. A frontcourt of James, Antetokounmpo, and Bam Adebayo under Erik Spoelstra.
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He’s the coach who led James to two titles in 2012 and 2013. James won two MVPs and two championships in Miami. It’s no secret that he feels a familiarity with Miami and its coach now.
Paul also listed the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and New York Knicks on the whiteboard. The Knicks, Paul noted, would likely already be out of the running if they had not won the championship this past season.
The league waits for James to make his final decision, and it would certainly make waves. He could suit up for one final go with longtime rival Stephen Curry, or choose to return to a former team, or completely shock all of us by choosing a team that’s out of the box.
