On June 30, the NBA world learned LeBron James would be diving headfirst into free agency as he informed the Lakers he’d be leaving Los Angeles and playing his 24th NBA season elsewhere. Over a week later and that is still all we know about the situation.
When James opted to hit the open market, there were three teams that seemed like the most obvious possible suitors: the Warriors, Cavaliers and Heat. All three offer some combination of star power, opportunity to contend and a narrative through line that would satisfy James’s instinct for leaning into the drama of it all. Subsequent reports indicated those teams would love to have LeBron—who wouldn’t? His agent, Rich Paul, offered a bit more information on top of that, claiming James’s priority is to win above anything else.
