As the NBA world waits for LeBron James to make his decision, the Miami Heat have emerged as the favorite to land James for the second time around. Joining the Cavaliers for a third time also seems to be on the table, while newcomers in the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors, and Minnesota Timberwolves are also trying to land James.
Adding to James’ indecision are the opinions of many in the NBA world.
NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins Warns LeBron James About Pat Riley, Heat
Players like Draymond Green have been openly campaigning for James to join their squad. In fact, on “The Draymond Green Show, Green explained that he made a “crazy” pitch to James, adding that even if James doesn’t sign with the Warriors, Green made him “think twice.”
Others, like Timberwolves’ star Anthony Edwards, have seemingly given up hope. “I have nothing to say about it because I’ve seen his top three teams, we’re not in it so,” Edwards told reporters.
Now, one of James’ former teammates and current ESPN NBA analyst, Kendrick Perkins, is offering his own advice regarding the reported leak that James would be signing with the Heat.
Kendrick Perkins says the LeBron – Heat news was not an accident:
“This wasn’t leaked on accident, those things don’t happen under Pat Riley’s watch. This means that Miami is really in the hunt. LeBron could possibly end up back in South Beach. All of us across the world have… pic.twitter.com/P3Er2bCY7y
— JayTakes (@SportsWithJay0) July 22, 2026
“This wasn’t leaked by accident,” Perkins explained. “Those things don’t happen under Pat Riley’s watch.”
“Now I will say this, this is something because this means that Miami is really in the hunt and in the thick of this. LeBron James could possibly end up back in South Beach with Erik Spoelstra, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo so I’m not going to sit up here and act like it’s nothing,” Perkins added.
To Green’s point, Riley doesn’t seem to do anything without a purpose, and he could be under the impression that leaking something like that could hurry along James’ decision, but that does not seem to be the case thus far.
Although the basketball world is constantly trying to find clues, Perkins explains that this is the first real clue we have seen.
“At the end of the day, any information we get, or we can dive into, because all of us across the world, in the basketball world, have become investigators,” Perkins said.
“Everybody is sitting up here investigating, trying to figure it out and solve the problem because there are no clues whatsoever, but this is the first real big clue that we’ve been able to see from an organization that LeBron James has interest in them.”
It is the first sign, other than rumors and reports, that James and the Heat were always going to be in the mix, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
We still aren’t sure where James is going to land, but we know that several teams are waiting for his decision, and once again, James’ decision could change the entire landscape of the NBA.
