Before LeBron James chose to sign with the Sixers, he narrowed down his list of potential destinations to five teams, with the Cleveland, Miami, Golden State, and Minnesota joining Philadelphia as finalists. And before that, his agent Rich Paul spoke to a total of 27 NBA clubs who expressed some level of interest in the four-time MVP, Paul told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
That group of 27 teams including unlikely suitors such as the Celtics, one of James’ longtime rivals. It also included the Clippers, McMenamin writes.
Although LeBron had decided in June that he wouldn’t re-sign with the Lakers, joining the Clippers would have given him the opportunity to continue living with his family in Los Angeles, where he had spent the past eight years. It also would’ve been one of the most lucrative options available to him. Sources tell McMenamin that the Clippers discussed a possible one-year contract worth more than $20MM for James.
A deal of that size wouldn’t have fit into the mid-level exception, and the Lakers renounced James’ rights early in free agency, taking a sign-and-trade off the table, so it’s possible the Clippers envisioned opening up cap room to make that sort of offer. It’s unclear if they would’ve hung onto Kawhi Leonard in that scenario — they reached their trade agreement with Toronto just hours after word broke that LeBron wouldn’t be returning to the Lakers and before free agency officially opened.
It’s a moot point in any case, since James never seriously considered the Clippers. But it’s an example of how LeBron had more opportunities available to him than the ones we focused on for several weeks, as well as a reminder that several of the options he didn’t pursue would’ve been more favorable from a financial perspective than the one he landed on.
Here are a few more leftover items from LeBron’s free agency:
- During the latest episode of the Game Over podcast, Paul acknowledged to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter video link) that LeBron met with several top Cavaliers front office and ownership executives in Akron in early July. It was the only in-person meeting James took during his free agency, Charania noted later during an appearance on NBA Today (Twitter video link).
- Despite president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka publicly expressing a desire to re-sign James, sources close to LeBron believe the Lakers were always prepared to move on from him this offseason and were never all that serious about bringing him back, according to McMenamin.
- Discussing James’ decision, a source familiar with his thinking suggested that the fact the 76ers are a marquee NBA franchise that hasn’t won a title since 1983 appealed to the 41-year-old. “One of the things that was compelling about the Sixers was how passionate the fanbase is and how long it’s been since they’ve won a championship,” that source told ESPN.
- James’ new deal only includes one guaranteed season, with a second-year player option. But that doesn’t mean he plans to opt out and retire in 2027, or even that he knows he’ll call it a career in 2028, according to Paul. “I think Philadelphia’s going to energize him,” the Klutch Sports CEO told McMenamin. “Maybe we get two (seasons). Maybe we get four.”
