{"id":2058171,"date":"2026-07-23T16:17:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2058171"},"modified":"2026-07-23T16:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:17:08","slug":"lebron-james-still-hasnt-announced-his-next-nba-team-what-is-he-waiting-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2058171","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James still hasn\u2019t announced his next NBA team. What is he waiting for?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>It\u2019s now been 24 days since LeBron James told the world that he would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>What began as a flurry of rumors about his next destination has now congealed into a protracted waiting game, one that has NBA teams, fans and even the league office looking at their proverbial watches. Expectation that James would announce his next team soon, boiling for weeks now, became red hot over the weekend.<\/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>The World Cup ended Sunday. The NBA needs to make its 2026-27 schedule. James\u2019 five NBA suitors \u2014 the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers <strong>\u2014<\/strong> need to make moves to either sign him or strengthen their team if he spurns them.<\/p>\n<p>James himself said last Thursday, while in New York for Fanatics Fest, \u201cI won\u2019t hold you guys up too much longer.\u201d James\u2019 agent Rich Paul has said publicly that he told the five teams believed to be the front-runners for James that they didn\u2019t need to provide any more information.<\/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>But as of Thursday morning, there is still no announcement. \u201cNobody knows right now except LeBron,\u201d said a source close to James who spoke on a condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, \u201cand I\u2019m not even sure LeBron knows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is a dangerous time in sports media. News cycles are endless, the demand for information is insatiable, and, frankly, there isn\u2019t much of it out there when it comes to James and his next big choice. Only Paul <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7460821\/2026\/07\/21\/lebron-james-free-agent-decision-rich-paul\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">is communicating at all with potential suitors<\/a> and he isn\u2019t telling any of them much. So much of what you\u2019ve seen and heard is conjecture or opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Because no one outside of LeBron, and maybe Paul, really knows.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, it\u2019s true that, late Tuesday, it was discovered the Miami Heat\u2019s social media team had posted to its YouTube channel <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7462873\/2026\/07\/22\/heat-lebron-james-link-mistake\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a link for a LeBron news conference on July 27<\/a> that has since been taken down and explained by Heat spokespeople as an honest mistake. The specificity of that link \u2014 with an actual date \u2014 is reason for pause, but also, planning for a potentially huge event like this happens all the time, across all mediums.<\/p>\n<p>What else has been floated this week? Let\u2019s see. How about James allegedly delaying his decision\u00a0just to spite NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who was also at Fanatics Fest last week, was also asked about James\u2019 free agency and said, \u201cI would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule\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=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Silver made those comments last Thursday, the same day James said he wouldn\u2019t \u201chold\u201d us up too much longer. It is possible James has held off to spite Silver, but not plausible. The NBA schedule, which is typically released in August, is only a portion of the league\u2019s business that is on pause right now. James is eventually going to pick a team, and that team has other moves it needs to make, and employees who need to unplug for a bit of R&amp;R before the start of another season. Other teams are waiting on James and won\u2019t get him, and Paul, as a super agent, will need to be able to work with those teams in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Also, there have been suggestions made on TV this week that James made up his mind, changed it and is back to square one. Sources close to James told <em>The Athletic<\/em> those suggestions were \u201ca lie.\u201d Others have floated roster moves James might be holding out for, which Paul has said is not true.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>\u201cIs there anything more we should be doing? We could be doing?\u201d Paul said during an appearance on his own podcast this week, characterizing his discussions with potential James suitors. \u201cNo. We don\u2019t need you to go above and beyond about anything. We understand it. It\u2019s clear. All the messages have been sent.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"inline-graphic\">\n<p>        a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n  display: flex;<br \/>\n  gap: 20px;<br \/>\n  flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n  align-items: center;<br \/>\n  padding: 20px 0px;<br \/>\n  border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  text-decoration: none;<br \/>\n  color: #121212;<br \/>\n  cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-franklin;<br \/>\n    font-size: 14px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n    line-height: 13.8px;<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 1.1px;<br \/>\n    text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-image {<br \/>\n    border-radius: 8px;<br \/>\n    object-fit: cover;<br \/>\n    width: 200px;<br \/>\n    height: 150px;<br \/>\n    margin: 0px;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      width: 120px;<br \/>\n      height: 120px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-inner-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: row;<br \/>\n    gap: 16px;<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-text-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n    gap: 20px;<br \/>\n    justify-content: center;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      gap: 8px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-title {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-cheltenham;<br \/>\n    font-size: 24px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 500;<br \/>\n    line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 0.01px;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 3;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-imperial;<br \/>\n    font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n    line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/<br \/>\n    color: #323232;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 4;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n      line-height: 121%;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.showcase-link-inputs {<br \/>\n  .showcase-link-input {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n    font-size: 1rem;<br \/>\n    background-color: white;<br \/>\n    margin-bottom: 12px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-indent {<br \/>\n    margin-left: 25px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  option {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {<br \/>\n  .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n    background-color: #121212;<br \/>\n    color: #f0f0ee;<br \/>\n    .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n      color: #c4c4c0;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>            \/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click<br \/>\n            document.querySelectorAll(&#8216;.showcase-link-image&#8217;).forEach((img) =&gt; img.removeAttribute(&#8216;onclick&#8217;));<\/p>\n<p>        <a id=\"showcase-link-7448210\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7448210\/2026\/07\/16\/lebron-james-kawhi-leonard-nba-decisions\/\" class=\"showcase-link-container in-content-module-link testbed-shortcode\" data-shortcode-id=\"101\" data-shortcode-string=\"showcase-link\" data-content-id=\"7448210\" data-content-post-type=\"article\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link\">What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-inner-content\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/07\/15212148\/GettyImages-2258110669-1024x742.jpg?width=400&amp;quality=70\" alt=\"LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard have NBA in limbo as teams are stuck waiting on decisions\" class=\"showcase-link-image\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-text-content\">\n<div class=\"showcase-link-title\">\n                  LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard have NBA in limbo as teams are stuck waiting on decisions\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-excerpt\">\n                  There are several NBA elements that the LeBron James and Kawni Leonard situations have put on hold.\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>During this whole process, only two teams have made moves specifically tied to James.<\/p>\n<p>Late on June 28, Warriors star forward and friend to James, Draymond Green, who is also represented by Paul, declined the player option on his contract. This was a surprise to those outside the Warriors\u2019 offices, and even to some top team officials inside it, as Green was widely expected to pick up the option. A team source who was granted anonymity to speak freely about internal deliberations said Green\u2019s opting out, done in collaboration with the Warriors\u2019 front office, was indeed to give the team flexibility to sign James and trade for Anthony Davis. \u201cBut there were no guarantees,\u201d the source said.<\/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=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the weeks since, numerous league sources have told <em>The Athletic<\/em> that the Washington Wizards, Davis\u2019 current team, has no interest in trading Davis to the Warriors for Jimmy Butler, whose salary would be needed to satisfy league rules on trades.<\/p>\n<p>The other team to make moves with an eye on James is his former team twice over, the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland star point guard James Harden was always expected to decline his player option, long before there was any public inkling that James would leave the Lakers in free agency. But Harden remains unsigned because he is giving the Cavs the flexibility to make a move like signing James. <em>The Athletic<\/em> first reported Harden\u2019s plan weeks ago, and it hasn\u2019t changed.\u00a0 Harden has said as much recently, calling it the \u201cgoal\u201d and \u201cplan\u201d for Cleveland to lure James back for one more go-around.<\/p>\n<p>The Cavs did something else that hasn\u2019t received as much attention. The organization paused its \u201cCavs United\u201d memberships program \u2014 basically, its season-ticket packages \u2014 for customers who hadn\u2019t previously signed up. Fans can make a \u201cdeposit\u201d to reserve their place in line, according to the Cavs\u2019 website, but the actual packages won\u2019t be available until a later date.<\/p>\n<p>An email posted to a sub-Reddit page for Cavs fans, alleged by the poster to be from Cleveland\u2019s tickets team, cites \u201cfree agency this time of year\u201d as the reason for the pause. A spokesperson for the Cavs\u2019 business operation declined to comment to <em>The Athletic<\/em>, but three Cleveland season-ticket holders said the team\u2019s pausing of their \u201cCavs United\u201d memberships is a huge departure from normal operations.<\/p>\n<p>If James rejoins the Cavs, obviously, Cleveland would be able to charge more for its season tickets and have no trouble selling them out.<\/p>\n<p>James\u2019 other suitors have made huge moves, of course, but the transactions weren\u2019t done to try and get LeBron, specifically. The Heat were going to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, regardless. The Timberwolves made huge changes to their team, trading for LaMelo Ball, before James\u2019 free agency was a thing. The 76ers acquired Jaylen Brown for nearly nothing and would have done so had James re-signed with the Lakers or retired.<\/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=\"mid4\" data-position=\"mid4\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In these last few weeks, executives from those teams \u2014 the Heat, the Sixers and Wolves \u2014 have all made public pitches and\/or declarations of their interest in James. Pat Riley, president of the Heat, has been out there. Bob Myers and Mike Gansey in Philadelphia, too, and in Myers\u2019 case, he actually joined Paul\u2019s podcast and made a pitch there. Tim Connelly of the Timberwolves has also made a case for all to hear and see.<\/p>\n<p>Who hasn\u2019t done that? How about Koby Altman of the Cavs or Mike Dunleavy of the Warriors? The coaches and players who work for those two executives have, of course, gone way public in their recruiting, opining and even joking (remember Steve Kerr trolling fans by saying \u201cwe got him\u201d as he drove away in an SUV?).<\/p>\n<p>They are the executives for the only two teams who actively have made moves to acquire or re-acquire James. Do their actions speak louder than the words of their rivals? Or do they know they\u2019re out?<\/p>\n<p>At this point, who can say?<\/p>\n<div id=\"inline-graphic\">\n<p>        a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n  display: flex;<br \/>\n  gap: 20px;<br \/>\n  flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n  align-items: center;<br \/>\n  padding: 20px 0px;<br \/>\n  border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  text-decoration: none;<br \/>\n  color: #121212;<br \/>\n  cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-franklin;<br \/>\n    font-size: 14px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n    line-height: 13.8px;<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 1.1px;<br \/>\n    text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-image {<br \/>\n    border-radius: 8px;<br \/>\n    object-fit: cover;<br \/>\n    width: 200px;<br \/>\n    height: 150px;<br \/>\n    margin: 0px;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      width: 120px;<br \/>\n      height: 120px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-inner-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: row;<br \/>\n    gap: 16px;<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-text-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n    gap: 20px;<br \/>\n    justify-content: center;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      gap: 8px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-title {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-cheltenham;<br \/>\n    font-size: 24px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 500;<br \/>\n    line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 0.01px;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 3;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-imperial;<br \/>\n    font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n    line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/<br \/>\n    color: #323232;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 4;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n      line-height: 121%;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.showcase-link-inputs {<br \/>\n  .showcase-link-input {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n    font-size: 1rem;<br \/>\n    background-color: white;<br \/>\n    margin-bottom: 12px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-indent {<br \/>\n    margin-left: 25px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  option {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {<br \/>\n  .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n    background-color: #121212;<br \/>\n    color: #f0f0ee;<br \/>\n    .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n      color: #c4c4c0;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>            \/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click<br \/>\n            document.querySelectorAll(&#8216;.showcase-link-image&#8217;).forEach((img) =&gt; img.removeAttribute(&#8216;onclick&#8217;));<\/p>\n<p>        <a id=\"showcase-link-7461382\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7461382\/2026\/07\/21\/lebron-james-free-agency-decision-legacy-nba\/\" class=\"showcase-link-container in-content-module-link testbed-shortcode\" data-shortcode-id=\"101\" data-shortcode-string=\"showcase-link\" data-content-id=\"7461382\" data-content-post-type=\"article\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link\">What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-inner-content\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/07\/02165346\/GettyImages-2272287283-1024x683.jpg?width=400&amp;quality=70\" alt=\"We are all witness to how much power LeBron James still wields\" class=\"showcase-link-image\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-text-content\">\n<div class=\"showcase-link-title\">\n                  We are all witness to how much power LeBron James still wields\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-excerpt\">\n                  Summer League is over but the NBA offseason still waits on one 41-year-old man.\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>In the meantime, the sports world will keep an eye on July 27 and a certain YouTube channel based in where LeBron once took his talents (South Beach, for those of you born after July 2010). But there are some, if you\u2019ll allow, interesting items going on in Cleveland this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Paul, who is from Cleveland\u2019s east side, is returning for a football camp for high school students. He announced on his Instagram page and confirmed it to <em>The Athletic<\/em>. As founder of Klutch Sports and head of the United Talent Agency\u2019s sports division, Paul also represents football players.<\/p>\n<p>Also, on Saturday, an expansive exhibit honoring the 2016 Cavs championship team will open at Cleveland Public Library.<\/p>\n<p>The only special guest being advertised for the unveiling is the Cavs\u2019 mascot, Moondog.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s now been 24 days since LeBron James told the world that he would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers. What began as a flurry of rumors about his next destination has now congealed into a protracted waiting game, one that has NBA teams, fans and even the league office looking at their proverbial [&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-2058171","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\/2058171","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=2058171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2058171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2058171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2058171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}