Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan has put an end to the LeBron James chatter, and he did it plainly.
For a brief stretch, Pacers fans had reason to wonder whether Indiana could actually land the superstar free agent. The fit looked easy enough to imagine, and with the Pacers positioned to contend for an NBA championship, the idea had enough juice to linger. But Buchanan made it clear that James is not headed to Indiana.
Speaking on the "Setting the Pace Podcast" with Alex Golden, Buchanan said the Pacers did make their pitch, but the result was never going to be a move to Indianapolis.
"Every team made their pitch to Rich (Paul) on what they could offer, as did we. I can’t tell you where he’s going to end up, but it won’t be Indiana.”
That should hardly register as a shock. James to the Pacers would have been one of the wildest swings in NBA history. Still, the dream had enough life to get people talking.
The list of possible landing spots appears to be trimmed to a handful of contenders, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and Philadelphia 76ers all in the mix. Reports have pointed to James preferring the Eastern Conference, and in recent days the Cavaliers and Heat have looked like the strongest possibilities.
James is 41 now, but he showed last season that he can still tilt a game and matter in a major way for a team with title hopes. In 60 games with the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2025-26 NBA season, he averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from three.
Tyrese Haliburton also tried to help Indiana’s case. The Pacers star point guard said he made his own attempt to recruit James, only to get back crying laughing emojis from James.
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