Agent Rich Paul explains LeBron James’ Lakers exit, reveals potential destinations

For a few weeks after Season 23 ended, LeBron James was “80 percent sure” he would return to the Los Angeles Lakers, he told longtime friend and sports agent Rich Paul.  Obviously that didn’t hold, and now the NBA’s all-time leading scorer is again the league’s most attractive and tantalizing free agent.

Speaking on his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul said that when James was sure he wanted to continue playing but not with the Lakers, he challenged his most famous client with one question: What did he want most as he entered his 24th NBA season?

“The answer was happiness,” Paul said.

During the episode, Paul discussed several potential destinations for James on a whiteboard. The Philadelphia 76ers were prominently listed, as were the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and a few other teams on the outer edges.

The next stop for LeBron should be…

David Aldridge, Joe Vardon and more

{“@context”:”https://schema.org”,”@type”:”VideoObject”,”@id”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/video/ejCulLZbEuq9KA0/”,”url”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/video/ejCulLZbEuq9KA0/”,”name”:”The next stop for LeBron should be…”,”description”:”David Aldridge, Joe Vardon and Jon Krawczynski explain why the Warriors, Cavaliers and Timberwolves are great options for LeBron. “,”uploadDate”:”2026-07-01T22:34:39.797Z”,”duration”:”PT1M40S”,”thumbnailUrl”:”https://cdn-media.theathletic.com/video-stream/auto-thumbnail/ejCulLZbEuq9KA0/j2R0NfgXtcZW.0000000.jpg”,”contentUrl”:”https://video.nyt.com/athletic/streams/ejCulLZbEuq9KA0/j2R0NfgXtcZW/j2R0NfgXtcZW.m3u8″,”transcript”:”Here’s why LeBron James should go with the Warriors, because he’s played his entire adult life in pursuit of championships and accolades, and he’s got everything that he could want. It’s time for him to just have some fun. Have fun playing next to Steph Curry, who you’ve gotten to know very well. Have fun playing for Steve Kerr, who was your Olympic coach. Have fun playing next to Draymond Green instead of against Draymond Green. Stefan. And let the championships take care of themselves. LeBron to the Cavs again. It’s not because they’re good, it’s not because they can pay him, or probably can. And it’s not because it’s home, it’s all three of those things and a compelling case for LeBron to come to Cleveland for one last go around. If LeBron James is truly prioritizing the chance to win and have the biggest impact, he should come to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves have an exciting young core with Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and Jade McDaniels. They also have really strong defense to surround him with Rudy Gobert and McDaniels, so he wouldn’t have to work as hard. That side of the floor. They also have a gaping hole at power forward in their starting lineup, so LeBron could come in and get right to it with the Minnesota Timberwolves, be a veteran leader on a team that has never won a title in a city that hasn’t had a men’s title since 1991. So you want to talk about making the biggest impact, the biggest splash by coming to a team and winning a championship, the Minnesota Timberwolves are it.”,”ineligibleRegion”:[“BI”,”BY”,”CD”,”CF”,”CU”,”IQ”,”IR”,”KP”,”LB”,”LY”,”ML”,”NI”,”RU”,”SD”,”SO”,”SS”,”SY”,”UA”,”VE”,”YE”,”ZW”],”publisher”:{“@type”:”NewsMediaOrganization”,”@id”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/#publisher”,”name”:”The Athletic”,”url”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/”,”foundingDate”:”2016-01-25″,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”@id”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”url”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”contentUrl”:”https://theathletic.com/app/themes/athletic/assets/img/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png”,”creditText”:”The Athletic”,”height”:”60″,”width”:”435″},”publishingPrinciples”:”https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/edit-guidelines/”,”sameAs”:”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Athletic”},”author”:[{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”David Aldridge, Joe Vardon and more”}]}

In a twist, Paul said if the Knicks hadn’t won the title, “there would be no board. He’d be going to the Knicks.” It’s unlikely James will sign with them, but Paul said the only thing that would need to happen is for Jalen Brunson to call.

{“endpoint”:”https://api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com/graphql”}

“He would have to pick up the phone and say it’s no issue with me with you joining,” Paul said.

Paul also pointed to James’ hometown of Cleveland as a serious contender, citing familiarity with the organization, Gilbert family and team president Koby Altman, as well as long-standing relationships with people within the organization, such as assistant general manager Brandon Weems.

“Brandon Weems, who I call basically like LeBron’s brother, is a big feather in the Cavs’ cap,” the sports agent said.

From a roster perspective, while Paul said it’s “nothing against James Harden,” James would have loved to play with the Clippers’ Darius Garland, whose game he admires, similar to that of another player, the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey.

“LeBron loves Maxey,” Paul said.

He added that the Sixers’ recent acquisition of Jaylen Brown makes them more attractive as a potential destination. James is also familiar with Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, whom he played high school basketball against, and Jameer Nelson, who is a new addition to Philadelphia’s front office. They also discussed how LeBron could help develop standout rookie VJ Edgecombe.

The Heat also remains in play due to James’ previous tenure with the team and familiarity with the organization. Another rarely discussed option would be the Timberwolves. Paul cited the ownership group, the possibility of playing with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball and the defensive support of Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels.

Paul said that playing in Golden State with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, and the way the Lacob family has built a winning organization, stood out, too.

Throughout the podcast, Paul also said the Nuggets, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs were part of broader league-wide discussions. With the Dallas Mavericks, Paul said many factors outside of basketball were part of the potential equation, in addition to roster evaluation.

Despite Paul’s comments on the podcast, no final decision had been made regarding James’ next team.

Agent Rich Paul explains LeBron James’ Lakers exit, reveals potential destinations

Analyse