LeBron James is a free agent. According to multiple reports from around the NBA, James is declining to opt in on the player option on the last year of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, meaning he’ll be permitted to chat with other teams beginning at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday.
While this may sound like a titanic development, we’re not quite there yet. This is actually the third time LeBron has opted out of his Cavs contract since he rejoined the team in 2014. He did so in 2015 and 2016 in order to sign more lucrative short-term contracts, and it is entirely possible he could be executing this maneuver again.
He also still has the ability to sign a long-term contract with Cleveland. According to ESPN, the Cavs can offer LeBron a five-year max deal worth around $207 million, while the most other teams can give him is a four-year contract that’d pay him $152 million.
LeBron, meanwhile, doesn’t seem too preoccupied with contract machinations. His latest Instagram post, which he shared on Thursday, places him in a sunny locale that offers cliff diving.
In conclusion, anyone inclined to read too much into LeBron not being under contract with the Cavaliers should follow the lead of the man himself and just enjoy their summer.
OK, have all the nerds left yet? Maybe I need to put in another one of those fancy section break things to make sure everyone but us is gone.
That should do it. So, I didn’t want to say this near the top of the post, but I think we all know what this really means: LeBron to the Knicks.
Reports out of New York indicate owner James Dolan may be “laying the groundwork for a sale of the franchise.” LeBron, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to own a team.
In 2017, James told the Athletic’s Ken Berger, “I will own a team someday. That’s my next thing … I think it’ll be cool. I’ll stay part of the game and still be able to put people in positions of power.”
LeBron has until 11:59 p.m. on Friday to tell the Cavs officially that he’s not opting in. Free agency begins Sunday at 12:01 a.m. That means he’ll have a minimum of one full day plus two minutes in which he’ll be suspended between contracts and, in effect, not part of the NBA. Given his insistence that he has to “stay part of the game,” that break will represent a massive basketball vacuum for LeBron, one he will have to fill with team ownership. The signs are clear. There is no other possible answer.
Assuming he and Dolan can work out the details in 86,520 seconds, LeBron will be the owner of the New York Knicks just in time for him to sign himself to a contract. The only question will be whether or not he’s willing to play for a team that has been struggling for the better part of two decades. James will have to give James quite a pitch, especially if there is any truth to the reports that he wants to move to Los Angeles. Owning the Knicks while playing for the Lakers could present a conflict of interest, but it’s on Adam Silver to figure that one out. I’m just here to report the facts.
Also see:
Where LeBron Should Play Next Year, According to a Wine Critic
Where LeBron Should Play Next Year, According to a Theoretical Astrophysicist
Where LeBron Should Play Next Year, According to a Game Theorist
