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.
