The teams pursuing star forward LeBron James have “reported mostly one-way communication,” according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who suggests that those clubs haven’t had much back-and-forth dialogue or feedback on their pitches during the first week of free agency.
There’s a “vibe” pointing toward James reuniting with the Cavaliers, Windhorst writes, noting that those rumblings have been buttressed by the fact that the four-time MVP celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his Cleveland championship earlier this offseason by vacationing with his 2016 Cavs teammates and has been spending more time in Akron this summer. However, Windhorst hears from sources that the Sixers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Warriors still believe they’re in the running.
Those five teams and Miami were cited earlier this week as the most serious suitors in the LeBron sweepstakes, and while Windhorst’s report doesn’t mention the Heat specifically, ESPN’s Shams Charania told Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday that they’re still firmly in the mix too.
“When I talk to teams around the league, when I do my research, the teams that continue to come up are Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia after they got Jaylen Brown,” Charania said (Twitter video link).
A potential reunion with the Cavaliers or Heat has been a popular topic of speculation since even before James informed the Lakers he wouldn’t be returning to the team for the 2026/27 season, but the 76ers have only emerged as a serious suitor since acquiring Brown from Boston in exchange for Paul George and draft assets.
“Philadelphia was not in the picture (before the Brown trade),” Charania continued. “… When the Sixers got Jaylen Brown, I did some research and I found out within 24 hours, he’s taking their pitch really seriously. I look at it, when I talk to teams now, as kind of a hierarchy of Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia, and then I think there’s some teams on the periphery.”
Here’s more on James:
- Some league sources believe that the Warriors only have a real chance to land James if they’re able to trade for Wizards big man – and LeBron’s former Lakers teammate – Anthony Davis, writes Anthony Slater of ESPN. However, team sources tell Slater that Golden State hasn’t been directly told that and hasn’t been engaging with Washington about a potential Davis deal. The Wizards reportedly aren’t interested in moving him.
- In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Ramona Shelburne takes a closer look at how the relationship between James and the Lakers ended. According to Shelburne, the Lakers contacted agent Rich Paul about a week before free agency began to try to set up a video meeting with LeBron and were told that he wasn’t available. Paul later told ESPN that his client had already decided he wouldn’t be staying in Los Angeles, so that call wasn’t necessary.
- The Lakers‘ initial plan in free agency, per Shelburne, was to pursue a top restricted free agent center like Walker Kessler or Jalen Duren, with unrestricted free agent Mitchell Robinson as a fall-back option. The team would’ve needed a significant chunk of cap room to land Kessler or Duren and likely would’ve offered James what was left, Shelburne explains. With James exiting, Los Angeles instead used its remaining space after landing Kessler to sign role players Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili, who the front office believes will be good fits alongside Luka Doncic.
All of these reports about the Warriors needing to trade for Anthony Davis feel like pure speculation to me. The Wizards just traded for Davis a few months ago, so why would they trade him before he’s played a game for them? And even if they were willing to trade him, why wouldn’t they canvass the league for the best possible deal? Why would they trade for Jimmy Butler, who is injured and will miss the majority of the season? This rumor makes no sense to me.
I first saw that rumor from some click bait news feed that is default on my phone. I dismissed it as pure hogwash. In fact I really don’t think LBJ would be interested in another go round with a now older and very much injury prone AD. Being on a team with Curry, Porzingas, and Butler is already pretty injury prone already. I think he would rather they go with a younger big who can take lobs, protect the paint and be depended on to play 70 games a season. To me it was my day lazy journalism like “oh bring LBJ’s friends and he’ll come”.
Could just be Rich paul using it to get AD a long term deal. The warriors team is in deep decline mostl;y because the owner can’t hamdle a rebuild and will not let the GM rebuild which they need to do.
It’s virtually impossible for the Warriors to begin a rebuild right now, because they have no cap room and their only tradeable assets are future first round picks, which are essential for a rebuild. They could begin a rebuild next year, if they stop giving big contracts to aging players. We will see if this happens….
You are right about that but they could stop picking up old players and take chances on young players. Give them a chance to play instead of old retired players. If Green or Curry doesn’t like doing a rebuild trade them.
You don’t think if the Wizards get 3 future, very valuable, Warriors FRP’s they wouldn’t consider trading one star who is hardly going to play next year for another star who is hardly going to play next year!?
Wizards said they do not want to trade AD.
Ah, yes, never in the history of the world one side of a potential negotiation has played hardball to get the other side to give up more.
warriors do not have more to trade. look at the team there is almost no assets to trade.
I seriously don’t any team would want AD so bad to give up even 1 first round pick. Honestly, his contract is only valuable in that is an expiring contract. Who knows how many games you clan l can in him playing anymore.
That is why Rich Paul is using Lebron to get a better contract for AD.
This was for @daveyJ too but I can’t seem to reply to him.
And once again, I seriously don’t LBJ is that enamored to demand anyone to trade for AD. He didn’t seem to mind the Lakers getting rid of him and I don’t he had that kind of leverage. I think you’re way overreacting to LBJ ‘s ego and his IQ. He’s smart enough to know that any team that traded for AD would have to give up matching salary for a player who is injury prone. Why would he do that to acquire a guy who he knows is likely to be unavailable. Not one single respected source had stated that scenario. Only one click bait site thought of it. LBj knows better. And he also knows he had zero leverage to ask for that.
Forgot about that the bad blood between AD and Lebron.
LeBron is retiring after one, maybe two years max he would love for any team he goes to throws all their future draft picks to get a good player.
Between AD and Butler, LeBron would definitely prefer AD over Butler.its between a guy who has had extensive injury history, but is healthy at the moment, and a guy who is for sure out another 6 plus months and even after he gets back he will need to get into basketball shape.
As far as Bron being ok with AD being traded out, no one asked him. Bron could’ve threatened to quit that day from the Lakers, and the lakers were doing that trade.
“Threaten to quit “? You really have no idea how the nba works. I don’t unbranded what you know about LBJ that suggests he would pout and “quit playing” bendy i guy was traded that he didn’t want to. They traded Kyrie and he didn’t want them to because he thought he could work out whatever issues Kyrie had. At the end of the day, he’s a professional. He might leave as a free agent as soon as he could but he’s not going to “quit” playing. And like I said, LBJ isn’t stupid. He knows what a team would have to give up to get AD and I’m positive he wouldn’t want them to do that for a guy he knows is likely to miss half the season. And I promise you he was happy to have zluka over AD. Luksla presented him with a Betsy opportunity to win.
@KnicksFanCavsFan
It’s not expiring, he has a player option (at $62.5 mil) in 2027-28
And he wants an extension. If he and Rich feel like that’s a real possibility then he would decline it and sign a new deal elsewhere. Hes asked recorded his pin that he not thrilled to be in Washington.
You’re correct how’ve however Rich Paul had list it be known he wants an extension which is why Dais decided to trade him. If he opts out then it’s an expired contract.
It’s not “speculation” its “Lebron telling GSW if they trade for AD, he will sign there”. But WSN does not want to trade him. So it’s not on GSW.
Lebron, once again, making his future team bow to him and his roster building, which broke his brain after winning the title with Miami. He should stop telling teams what to do and just go to GSW to play with Steph and Dray.
Lebron wants to ring chase so going to Cavs or Heat is his best chance right now.
LeBron wouldn’t be going to GSW to win a championship. He’d be going to play with his friend, Steph. The Warriors best chance to win a championship is to time travel back to 2022
See, you have new user name, therefore your ball knowledge is in question. Real ones who know ball know Draymond and Lebron are besties. Steph and Lebron are cordial but not besties. They do not hang in the offseason, Dray and Lebron do (and currently are, right now).
I’ve visited the comments section enough to recognize who the biggest bozos are. Glad they have a mute feature
Neat. So you started posting here and automatically want to argue facts over your lies? Cool.
The mute feature is broken, it only works 1-way, if someone mutes another, neither side should be able to see each others comments. But not here.
@davey
I have no idea what relevance my username has with regards to this conversation. “Real ones” aren’t the only ones who know LBJ and Dray are friends. Whether they’re “besties” or not is up in the air. For me, grown ups don’t use words like “besties”. But Wade was a “bestie” too and LBJ bounced on him to leave the Heat and then watched as he was traded from the Cavs to the Heat for the betterment of his current team. LBJ is a grown ass man and he makes his devil’s based off of what’s in HIS best interest. Asking the Warriors to trade for AD as a precondition to join the Warriors may or may not be in his best interest. However, you’re suggestion that they would take on AD’s contract, which undoubtedly would require them to use Butler’s expiring contract (2026-27) in exchange for AD who also has a $62 mil player option for (2027-28) seems like an absurd price to pay for the Warriors just to appease LBJ who might retire after this year. And I think LBJ knows that and knows that AD is far from dependable and knows they might be better off bringing in a younger player rather that adding av”bestie” for some feel good reason. I have yet to hear any credible source suggest that LBJ has made that demand to GSW, especially since the word on the street is that he hasn’t told any team anything yet. So go follow LBJ’s IG and keep trying to decipher his intent based upon who he hands out with in the off-season. Maybe he wants to being Love, Shump, Richard Jefferson and Delly out of retirement too since they must all be his “besties” too.
I’m just sick of lebron James BS the ego on this dude can’t wait for this dude to be out of the league
You sound like a hater. LeBron James been great his whole career why shouldn’t he have a ego!
LeBron knows where he will go he just enjoying making other teams wait and laughing how they are all falling over each other to get him.
LeBron James is controlling his own destiny.
I bet you don’t mind when Danny Ainge or Brad Stevens trade guys mid season or whenever and uproot them from their team.
Considering players work for the teams, no. Jebron is more worthless than Paul George. Oh, he beat Houston – Kevin Durant played one game. GOAT = Go On Another Team, all the all-time greats did it, wait…
Honestly offseason Lebron is 10000x worse than regular season Lebron.
Exactly what are you sick of him doing? Saying nothing because he hasn’t decided yet? Be mad at the media. I can never understand how you want to get mad at him for? He’s not holding anyone up from holding money off he’s asking to take whatever the team can afford.
Luke, you are such tease. I thought you posted Warriors exit this madness.
Please pick anybody but Philly.
There’s a “vibe” pointing toward James reuniting with the Cavaliers, Windhorst writes, noting that those rumblings have been buttressed by the fact that the four-time MVP celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his Cleveland championship earlier this offseason by vacationing with his 2016 Cavs teammates
Might be the 1st time i ever heard the word “buttressed”
Obviously he is going to Cleveland. He just likes to play with the media, see how crazy they go, and then he’ll just put on a pay per view show about his decision.
Hope he just goes to Cleveland, finish where he started, Cleveland won’t win a Championship in 2027 with or without a Lebron James. James had the all the air in the room for a long time, now is the time for other player(s) to be in the spotlight of the NBA. James just needs to sit back and let the NBA just evolve into the Wemby, Brunson leaders of the NBA from here on. The James, Curry era is basically over let the new wave of players move the league forward.
Brunson? lol he is 30 years old and 6’1″ + had the deepest roster in the playoffs – he got lucky. Knicks will never sniff another Finals in our lifetimes.
They have a better shot than the Warriors
Not really, Steph is the only player that can singlehandedly lead their team to the Finals, proven in 2022. Give Steph KAT and the Knicks depth and he’d never lose.
In other words, put Steph on an entirely different team and he’d have a better team.
Give Steph bionic ankles and super soldier serum and he’ll win MVP every year until he’s 60!
Too bad the league is based in reality and not the MCU, tho
Steph cooked prime Kawhi in the play-in, he has still got it and if he played 15 more games instead of missing half the season no one would be talking about how “bad” the Warriors are (they aren’t) (Yaxel is Dominican Lebron).
What if the entire team didn’t show up? What if their bus broke down and they couldn’t make the game? What if Adam Silver handed you the trophy and said the Warriors deserve another title because you’re the best little commenter on Hoops Rumors?
I guess we’ll never know!
“because you’re the best commenter on Hoops Rumors”
Thanks for the recognition, its tough being #1 around here but I am built to win, just like Steph and GSW!
You really don’t think a Cavs team with Mitchell/ Harden/KBJ/Mobley/ Allen couldn’t win after they made it to the ECF? I think they’re the favorites for the Day of it happened. He’s exactly what they need.
Please go the jokcavs and choke with Harden
The only team that would have a serious chance at the championship next year with LeBron is Philly, and that’s only if Embiid and the other key players are healthy.
If they’re all healthy their chances are really good. With LeBron their chances go up by 3% maybe.
Nah GSW can easily win it all with Bron as long as Steph, Jimmy and Dray are all healthy in the playoffs.
lol! The only people busy in GSW next year with that group is the medical team,
lol! You literally can say the exact same about the 76ers
James is 42yrs old, if he was in such great demand how come the other 29 teams did not rush to get him. He is just not in great demand, Washington is not sending Davis to whatever team LJ decides to go to, not without that teams giving up quite a bit in return. I almost bet that the only way that Washington would send Davis to GS is for GS to give up 3 first round picks, which GS would be a fool to do, not for a 33 yr old injury prone Davis. Why would GS want James? Does it make them a NBA finalist in 2027, does anyone see them going past SA or OKC in 2027? It would be a major risk for GS to give up the future for one year of a Lebron James show. If the Warriors would in deed sign James and acquire Davis to go along with Curry, Green, the average age for a starting four of these players would be around 35 to 36 years old. How many games together would they play together? Nope would not even think about signing James if I was GS management.
Literally all AD’s trade value is worth in 2026 is Jimmy Butler in a 1 for 1 deal. Wizards wont do that.
I guess you missed out on the “10 teams have pitched Rich Paul” stories. Only teams that are real contenders are going to go stay him. The Sac Kings and Memphis Grizzlies no better. Why wouldn’t 10 to 15 teams want a high IQ 4x champ who posted 20/6/6 while shooting above 50% for a way below market price? It’s oddities to suggest there isn’t a strong market for him. Even if it was just to sell tickets he’d have a market.
Article #1: “Uh.. lots of teams are still in the mix. He’s still waiting to decide though.”
Article #24, posted day 24 of FA: “Uh.. lots of teams are still in the mix. He’s still waiting to decide though.”
Article #47, posted day 47 of FA: “Uh.. lots of teams are still in the mix. He’s still waiting to decide though.”
Imagine humiliating yourself for a 41 year old LeBron James, sadly my team is doing that currently
The good news is it looks like gsw will miss out on him
Agreed Brabo.
Lakers fans, get ready for a long season of LeBron “what-ifs”. If the new lineup does well, maybe 4 or 5 in the West, LBJ would’ve made them 2 or 3. If they only make the play-in, it’s cause they forced LBJ out. This new team is boom or bust and so different than the 2020 defense first team. Either way LBJ will be a big topic, unfortunately.
I doubt it , at least from my perspective there’s infinitely more intrigue of being able to build forward under Luka with a fresh new start than hanging onto any old memories
This build is it. If it doesn’t work, they have no more picks or swaps to trade. Just hopes and prayers to land someone in FA in 2 years
That’s a lot better than we were sitting 20 months ago !
Everything’s a risk in life
Not taking a risk is a risk
He knows where he’s going to sign. This spectacle isn’t necessary.
He already knew a week before announcing he was going to leave, but waited to guarantee that Bronny’s salary would be fully guaranteed.
I’m genuinely looking forward to the post-LeBron NBA. It’s reached the point where the narratives off the court, are bigger than anything he does on it.
Why can’t I respond to the moneys @daveyJ writes? It’s not even giving me an opportunity to reply to him.
He might have you muted. Just mute him back so you don’t have trouble yourself with seeing his utter nonsense. It’s much better place.
Ummmmm…. what? I think Andrew Wiggins all around 2way play and Klay Thompson had a lot to do with it too. And I would say LBJ has dragged more teams to the finals than Curry ever has. And I’m not even a big LBJ fan.