Сагсан бөмбөгийн ертөнц Леброн Жэймс аль багт элсэх тухай шийдвэрийг тэсэн ядан хүлээж байна.
Лос-Анжелес Лэйкерсээс гарах шийдвэр гаргаснаас хойш 24 хоногийн хугацаа өнгөрсөн ч нөхцөл байдал тодорхойгүй хэвээр байна. Леброн Жэймс өөрөө удахгүй шийдвэрээ танилцуулна гэж мэдэгдсэн бол түүний агент Рич Пол сонирхож буй таван багт нэмэлт мэдээлэл шаардлагагүй гэж мэдэгджээ. NBA-ийн 2026-27 оны улирлын хуваарийг батлах ажил саатсанд комиссар Адам Силвер санаа зовниж буйгаа илэрхийлсэн юм.
Одоогоор Кливлэнд Кавалиерс болон Голдэн Стэйт Уорриорс л түүнийг элсүүлэхтэй холбоотой тодорхой алхмуудыг хийгээд байна. Дрэймонд Грийн гэрээнийхээ сонголтоос татгалзсан нь Уорриорсын хувьд Леброн Жэймсийг элсүүлэх орон зайг бүрдүүлэх зорилготой байсан гэж эх сурвалж мэдээлэв. Мөн Кливлэнд Кавалиерс баг Жэймс Хардений гэрээний нөхцөл болон тасалбар борлуулалтын системдээ өөрчлөлт оруулсан нь эргэн ирэх магадлалтай холбоотой гэж үзэж байна.
Майами Хит, Миннесота Тимберволвз, Филадельфиа Севенти Сиксерс багууд сонирхлоо илэрхийлсэн ч тэдний хийсэн солилцоо наймаанууд нь Леброн Жэймсээс шууд хамааралгүй байв. Олон нийтийн дунд тархсан таамаг болон Майами Хитийн YouTube хуудсанд гарсан мэдээлэл нь албан ёсны шийдвэр биш болох нь тодорхой болжээ. Ирэх долоо хоногт Кливлэндэд болох үйл явдлууд олны анхаарлыг татаж байгаа ч одоогоор хэн ч эцсийн шийдвэрийг мэдэхгүй байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
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It’s now been 24 days since LeBron James told the world that he would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers.
What began as a flurry of rumors about his next destination has now congealed into a protracted waiting game, one that has NBA teams, fans and even the league office looking at their proverbial watches. Expectation that James would announce his next team soon, boiling for weeks now, became red hot over the weekend.
The World Cup ended Sunday. The NBA needs to make its 2026-27 schedule. James’ five NBA suitors — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers — need to make moves to either sign him or strengthen their team if he spurns them.
James himself said last Thursday, while in New York for Fanatics Fest, “I won’t hold you guys up too much longer.” James’ agent Rich Paul has said publicly that he told the five teams believed to be the front-runners for James that they didn’t need to provide any more information.
Where will LeBron James end up?
The Athletic NBA Staff and Jeshua Kidd
But as of Thursday morning, there is still no announcement. “Nobody knows right now except LeBron,” said a source close to James who spoke on a condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, “and I’m not even sure LeBron knows.”
This is a dangerous time in sports media. News cycles are endless, the demand for information is insatiable, and, frankly, there isn’t much of it out there when it comes to James and his next big choice. Only Paul is communicating at all with potential suitors and he isn’t telling any of them much. So much of what you’ve seen and heard is conjecture or opinion.
Because no one outside of LeBron, and maybe Paul, really knows.
Yes, it’s true that, late Tuesday, it was discovered the Miami Heat’s social media team had posted to its YouTube channel a link for a LeBron news conference on July 27 that has since been taken down and explained by Heat spokespeople as an honest mistake. The specificity of that link — with an actual date — is reason for pause, but also, planning for a potentially huge event like this happens all the time, across all mediums.
What else has been floated this week? Let’s see. How about James allegedly delaying his decisionjust to spite NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who was also at Fanatics Fest last week, was also asked about James’ free agency and said, “I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule”?
Silver made those comments last Thursday, the same day James said he wouldn’t “hold” us up too much longer. It is possible James has held off to spite Silver, but not plausible. The NBA schedule, which is typically released in August, is only a portion of the league’s business that is on pause right now. James is eventually going to pick a team, and that team has other moves it needs to make, and employees who need to unplug for a bit of R&R before the start of another season. Other teams are waiting on James and won’t get him, and Paul, as a super agent, will need to be able to work with those teams in the future.
Also, there have been suggestions made on TV this week that James made up his mind, changed it and is back to square one. Sources close to James told The Athletic those suggestions were “a lie.” Others have floated roster moves James might be holding out for, which Paul has said is not true.
“Is there anything more we should be doing? We could be doing?” Paul said during an appearance on his own podcast this week, characterizing his discussions with potential James suitors. “No. We don’t need you to go above and beyond about anything. We understand it. It’s clear. All the messages have been sent.”
During this whole process, only two teams have made moves specifically tied to James.
Late on June 28, Warriors star forward and friend to James, Draymond Green, who is also represented by Paul, declined the player option on his contract. This was a surprise to those outside the Warriors’ offices, and even to some top team officials inside it, as Green was widely expected to pick up the option. A team source who was granted anonymity to speak freely about internal deliberations said Green’s opting out, done in collaboration with the Warriors’ front office, was indeed to give the team flexibility to sign James and trade for Anthony Davis. “But there were no guarantees,” the source said.
In the weeks since, numerous league sources have told The Athletic that the Washington Wizards, Davis’ current team, has no interest in trading Davis to the Warriors for Jimmy Butler, whose salary would be needed to satisfy league rules on trades.
The other team to make moves with an eye on James is his former team twice over, the Cavaliers.
Cleveland star point guard James Harden was always expected to decline his player option, long before there was any public inkling that James would leave the Lakers in free agency. But Harden remains unsigned because he is giving the Cavs the flexibility to make a move like signing James. The Athletic first reported Harden’s plan weeks ago, and it hasn’t changed. Harden has said as much recently, calling it the “goal” and “plan” for Cleveland to lure James back for one more go-around.
The Cavs did something else that hasn’t received as much attention. The organization paused its “Cavs United” memberships program — basically, its season-ticket packages — for customers who hadn’t previously signed up. Fans can make a “deposit” to reserve their place in line, according to the Cavs’ website, but the actual packages won’t be available until a later date.
An email posted to a sub-Reddit page for Cavs fans, alleged by the poster to be from Cleveland’s tickets team, cites “free agency this time of year” as the reason for the pause. A spokesperson for the Cavs’ business operation declined to comment to The Athletic, but three Cleveland season-ticket holders said the team’s pausing of their “Cavs United” memberships is a huge departure from normal operations.
If James rejoins the Cavs, obviously, Cleveland would be able to charge more for its season tickets and have no trouble selling them out.
James’ other suitors have made huge moves, of course, but the transactions weren’t done to try and get LeBron, specifically. The Heat were going to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, regardless. The Timberwolves made huge changes to their team, trading for LaMelo Ball, before James’ free agency was a thing. The 76ers acquired Jaylen Brown for nearly nothing and would have done so had James re-signed with the Lakers or retired.
In these last few weeks, executives from those teams — the Heat, the Sixers and Wolves — have all made public pitches and/or declarations of their interest in James. Pat Riley, president of the Heat, has been out there. Bob Myers and Mike Gansey in Philadelphia, too, and in Myers’ case, he actually joined Paul’s podcast and made a pitch there. Tim Connelly of the Timberwolves has also made a case for all to hear and see.
Who hasn’t done that? How about Koby Altman of the Cavs or Mike Dunleavy of the Warriors? The coaches and players who work for those two executives have, of course, gone way public in their recruiting, opining and even joking (remember Steve Kerr trolling fans by saying “we got him” as he drove away in an SUV?).
They are the executives for the only two teams who actively have made moves to acquire or re-acquire James. Do their actions speak louder than the words of their rivals? Or do they know they’re out?
At this point, who can say?
In the meantime, the sports world will keep an eye on July 27 and a certain YouTube channel based in where LeBron once took his talents (South Beach, for those of you born after July 2010). But there are some, if you’ll allow, interesting items going on in Cleveland this weekend.
Paul, who is from Cleveland’s east side, is returning for a football camp for high school students. He announced on his Instagram page and confirmed it to The Athletic. As founder of Klutch Sports and head of the United Talent Agency’s sports division, Paul also represents football players.
Also, on Saturday, an expansive exhibit honoring the 2016 Cavs championship team will open at Cleveland Public Library.
The only special guest being advertised for the unveiling is the Cavs’ mascot, Moondog.
