{"id":13145,"date":"2026-07-22T02:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13145"},"modified":"2026-07-22T02:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T21:48:12","slug":"lebron-james-not-going-to-be-rushed-as-nba-awaits-free-agency-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13145","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James \u2018not going to be rushed\u2019 as NBA awaits free agency decision"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/03\/LeBrons_Decision_What_to_Know_Basketball_76639_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>LeBron James is in no hurry to make his free agency decision. Rich Paul, James\u2019 agent, said in a podcast on Monday that the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer is \u201cnot going to be rushed\u201d into a signing with a new team for his 24th season.<\/p>\n<p>But the NBA \u2014 especially the franchises vying for James\u2019 services \u2014 is stuck in a holding pattern. The Philadelphia 76ers are widely considered one of the favorites to land the 22-time All-Star. His two former teams, the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers, are also in the running.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not going to be rushed,\u201d Paul said on an episode of the \u201cGame Over\u201d podcast published on Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s his choice to make, and when he makes the choice, he\u2019ll make it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>James told crowds at last week\u2019s Fanatics Fest event in New York City that he \u201cwon\u2019t hold you guys up too much longer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The interested teams have already made their pitches, Paul said. The decision rests with James.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been several people to call and say, \u2019Hey, Rich, is there anything more we should be doing? We could be doing?\u2019\u201d Paul said. \u201cAnd my answer is, \u2019No. 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\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The competing teams have been open about their hunt for James. Josh Harris, owner of the 76ers, met with James at the Fanatics Fest after current Philadelphia stars Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid reached out to the free agent, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The 76ers still trail their Eastern Conference rivals in odds posted by prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.<\/p>\n<p>Bettors have anticipated that the Heat have the best shot at landing James after trading for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe landed the plane,\u201d Heat President Pat Riley said at Antetokounmpo\u2019s introductory event before appearing to hint toward the pursuit of James. \u201cThere\u2019s another one we have to land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>James hasn\u2019t confirmed that the 2026-27 season will be his last. But he turns 42 in December.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I were in LeBron James\u2019 shoes, I would choose Miami, and here\u2019s why. If you really think about it: where do people go when they\u2019re about to retire? You don\u2019t have to make nothing up in this situation,\u201d NBA Hall of Famer Chris Bosh, James\u2019 former Heat teammate, said on X. \u201cYou see that he\u2019s picked up the sticks; he\u2019s got a new hobby in golf. Where can you golf all the time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A return to Cleveland is considered equally likely after the Cavaliers\u2019 trip to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. James, a native of northeast Ohio, led the franchise to its only championship in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, it\u2019s home,\u201d Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell told sports media company Overtime of his pitch to James last week. \u201cWe\u2019ve done it once, let\u2019s do it again. Simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While only a handful of teams appear to have a real chance of adding James, players across the league are lobbying the 21-time All-NBA selection. Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has outlined his vision if James joins his longtime rival.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019ve got LeBron James and Steph Curry in a pick-and-roll \u2026 you\u2019d better go find a role. You\u2019d better go find a spot so you can be valuable,\u201d Green said on his podcast, noting that he\u2019d become a spot-up, corner three-point shooter.<\/p>\n<p>Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis has even tried to convince James to come to the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had some conversations,\u201d Davis said at Fanatics Fest.<\/p>\n<p>For now, the NBA is in a holding pattern. Commissioner Adam Silver, at CNBC\u2019s Game Plan Summit last week, said the league is waiting for James to sign before finalizing its schedule for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n<p>Not even James\u2019 closest confidantes are sure when he\u2019ll sign, though.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know when his choice is going to be made, but it could be 48 seconds. It could be 48 minutes. I don\u2019t know,\u201d Paul said. \u201cAgain, you can\u2019t make somebody know something that they don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"author-contact-section\">\n<\/section><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LeBron James is in no hurry to make his free agency decision. Rich Paul, James\u2019 agent, said in a podcast on Monday that the NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer is \u201cnot going to be rushed\u201d into a signing with a new team for his 24th season. But the NBA \u2014 especially the franchises vying for James\u2019&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/03\/LeBrons_Decision_What_to_Know_Basketball_76639_c0-422-5063-3375_s1200x700.jpg?9716313c5c49c39746684fda61c768629eab519a","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}