{"id":2054011,"date":"2026-07-21T13:45:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2054011"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:45:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T10:45:28","slug":"lebron-james-not-going-to-be-rushed-on-free-agent-decision-says-rich-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2054011","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James \u2018not going to be rushed\u2019 on free-agent decision, says Rich Paul"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>As the basketball world continues to wait for LeBron James to decide where he will play in his record-setting 24th NBA season, Rich Paul, his longtime friend and agent, said teams will have to keep on waiting, insisting that James does not yet know his decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be rushed,\u201d Paul said on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/whats-the-rush-for-lebron-game-over\/id1855648416?i=1000777643456\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">the latest episode of his podcast<\/a>, \u201cGame Over\u201d with Max Kellerman, that was released Monday night. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be rushed. It\u2019s his choice to make, and when he makes the choice, he\u2019ll make it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When asked by Kellerman if there was a leader in the race for James\u2019 services or if James was leaning toward a certain team at the moment, Paul said, \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paul added: \u201cI don\u2019t know when his choice is going to be made, but it could be 48 seconds (from now). It could be 48 minutes. I don\u2019t know. Again, you can\u2019t make somebody know something that they don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"8ecZjMg9IgMnWo6\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Where will LeBron James end up?<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">The Athletic NBA Staff and Jeshua Kidd<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/8ecZjMg9IgMnWo6\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/8ecZjMg9IgMnWo6\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Where will LeBron James end up?&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;With his free agency decision still looming, we asked our reporters where they think LeBron James will play next.&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-07-17T15:20:39.563Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT52S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/8ecZjMg9IgMnWo6\/MJrJogZd5Z6K.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/8ecZjMg9IgMnWo6\/MJrJogZd5Z6K\/MJrJogZd5Z6K.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;We asked our reporters, where will LeBron James end up? pretty far wherever I land. I&#8217;m gonna go do what I do best. I think he&#8217;s going to Cleveland. Cleveland, Cleveland, Cleveland, because he misses me. Uh, he&#8217;s definitely not going to Dallas for the oil, Gulf, Macau in Africa. So I, I think he&#8217;s gonna end up Cleveland back home. I think the draw of playing at home makes the most sense. It&#8217;s gonna be either Cleveland or Golden State. Play with Stephen Curry. If happiness is what it is, then it&#8217;s gotta either be going back home or going upstate Miami because he is a man who loves golf and he already did the Cavs rerun. I feel like if Giannis is really trying to talk me into starting this thing again in Miami, how could you say no to that? I would love to see him go to Philly. Philly makes a ton of sense, but I think he ends up in Cleveland. And then like my favorite fit is Minnesota. Like I&#8217;d love to see him play with and, and LaMelo. Like let&#8217;s, let&#8217;s get crazy.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic NBA Staff and Jeshua Kidd&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"metadata\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Paul informed the Los Angeles Lakers on June 30 that James would not be returning to the Lakers for the 2026-27 season. Teams around the league were allowed to woo James. Still, over the past three weeks, the 22-time All-Star forward has narrowed the options for his next team down to five: Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors.<\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p>According to Paul, there is nothing left for those teams to do to secure James\u2019s commitment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been several people to call and say, \u2018Hey, Rich, is there anything more we should be doing? We could be doing?\u2019\u2009\u201d Paul said. \u201cAnd my answer is, \u2018No. We don\u2019t need you to go above and beyond about anything. We understand it. It\u2019s clear. All the messages have been sent.\u2019\u2009\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While dragging out the decision doesn\u2019t affect James,\u00a0<span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7448210\/2026\/07\/16\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-nba-decisions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">business around the league<\/a> is being held up\u00a0<\/span>as teams wait. Several anxious teams are still trying to sort out their rosters in the back half of July, a rarity in a normal offseason.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>Over the weekend, James <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7453281\/2026\/07\/17\/lebron-james-nba-free-agency-trust-the-process\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">made several appearances in New York<\/a> and offered little insight into his decision regarding the upcoming season. That left some skeptics saying he was dragging out this decision to garner more attention. Paul denied that claim, insisting that the four-time NBA MVP is taking the time he needs to make the best decision possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s important for people to understand: We\u2019re not making this about attention and a spectacle,\u201d Paul said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about a \u2018Decision\u2019 or anything like that. He has a choice to make. He has a business choice to make. We\u2019re not going to sit here and decide or allow someone else to decide when he makes that decision. \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a business choice that he\u2019s making. And I think as an athlete, why is it that an athlete has to rush his choice?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the basketball world continues to wait for LeBron James to decide where he will play in his record-setting 24th NBA season, Rich Paul, his longtime friend and agent, said teams will have to keep on waiting, insisting that James does not yet know his decision. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be rushed,\u201d Paul said on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2054011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2054011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2054011\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2054011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2054011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2054011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}