LeBron James has kept his free agency quiet, but the rest of the league has been buzzing around him.
After leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, James still hasn’t shown his hand publicly. Teams that have reached out say the process with his camp has been simple and frustrating at the same time: they make their pitch, then wait for Rich Paul to respond.
Even with the Cleveland Cavaliers carrying the strongest buzz, four other teams still believe they can get James. ESPN reported that the Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Philadelphia 76ers all think they have a real chance, and none of them has backed off.
The Cleveland angle has picked up steam for a few reasons. League insiders are pointing to a “vibe” around the Cavaliers, James spent part of his Fourth of July weekend in Akron, and he recently reconnected with several of his 2016 championship teammates. Cleveland also just finished its best non-LeBron season in three decades and signed Donovan Mitchell to a three-year, $150.3 million max extension.
Brian Windhorst put it plainly on ESPN: “If you ask me, are the vibes pointing towards Cleveland? Yeah, the vibes are pointing towards Cleveland. But it's just vibes.”
The other suitors have their own sales pitches. Golden State can sell a reunion with Steph Curry and Draymond Green after their Olympic run.
Denver can offer James the chance to play alongside Nikola Jokic, which would let him avoid carrying the offense every night. Minnesota can put Anthony Edwards next to him.
Philadelphia’s case got a lift when it traded for Jaylen Brown, and ESPN’s Shams Charania said James is taking that move “really seriously.”
At 41, James is willing to take a veteran minimum deal if it helps him chase another ring, which is why teams over the cap can still make a run at him. But the timing is still his call, and if his previous free agencies are any guide, nobody will know where he’s headed until the deal is already done.
In Other News...
Mavericks Finally Land Long-Stashed Shooter After One Major Hurdle
Tarik Biberovic is finally on the verge of making the move the Mavericks have had his rights stashed for, with the 24-year-old wing informing Fenerbahce that he will leave the EuroLeague to sign in Dallas. The deal is expected to run two years and carry a second-year team option, a tidy bit of business for a team still looking to add shooting and long-term flexibility around its core.
The path to getting it done was not simple, though, and the timing mattered. Biberovic had to clear an opt-out deadline tied to his Fenerbahce contract, and the Mavericks also had to navigate the buyout process under NBA rules before the signing could become official. For Dallas, it is the kind of overseas holdover resolution that can quietly matter, especially when a player has been on the radar long enough to become part of the franchises future planning. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks May Have Finally Fixed The Problem Around Cooper Flagg
The Mavericks spent the offseason attacking the same flaw that showed up too often last year: too many lineups that could not punish defenses from the perimeter. Through the 2026 draft and a series of trades, Dallas has added a cluster of players who at least bring shooting into the conversation, including Morez Johnson Jr., Sergio De Larrea and the draft rights to Vsevolod Ishchenko, while also bringing in Santi Aldama and Marcus Sasser to help reshape the spacing around Cooper Flagg.
Aldama is the most intriguing of the bunch because he gives Dallas a 7-foot forward who can stretch the floor, and Sasser offers another backcourt option who can score and shoot from deep. The bigger question now is how much of this shooting makeover actually sticks once the roster is finalized, because the Mavericks still have one more move in the pipeline that could determine whether this really is the fix they were looking for. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Are Chasing Luka's Old Mavs Formula For Better Or Worse
The Lakers latest roster-building push has a familiar feel for anyone who watched Luka Doncic operate in Dallas, because the pieces around him are starting to resemble the kind of setup the Mavericks used in 2024. The comparison is obvious in the way Los Angeles is trying to match up key positions and give Doncic the same sort of structural support that helped Dallas reach the Finals, even if the exact names and fit are not identical.
But there is a reason this kind of copycat approach comes with caution attached. Dallas version of the formula did not end with a championship, and the Lakers still have to answer the same kind of roster questions that can make or break a contender, especially on the wing where a dependable perimeter defender remains a major need. For Los Angeles, the challenge is not just looking like the Mavericks did, but proving the blueprint can actually take a team all the way. [Read more 🡒]