LeBron James made waves Monday night when he sat courtside with his wife, Savannah, and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, for Game 4 of the second-round playoff series between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. That raised eyebrows across the NBA, particularly since James can become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he declines his $51.4 million player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2024-25 season.
“I started getting people in the NBA—multiple general managers—sending me my own meme back to me, saying, ‘What is going on in Cleveland?'” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on Tuesday’s episode of Get Up.
Windhorst noted that James and his wife were back in Cleveland for Mother’s Day, so his decision to attend the game might have been innocuous. Then again, that’s rarely been the case with James throughout his NBA career.
“He’s extremely strategic,” Windhorst said on Unsportsmanlike on Tuesday morning. “And I wish I could tell you I knew exactly what he is doing. I don’t pretend to know, but he’s gotta be up to something.”
James might have been trying to send a subtle message to Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, who missed Game 4 with a calf injury. He has only one guaranteed year left on his contract, along with a $37.1 million player option in 2025-26 that he’s all but certain to decline.
This offseason, Mitchell will be eligible to sign a four-year extension that could be worth more than $200 million. If he declines to do so, NBA executives have long speculated that the Cavaliers would have to entertain trading him to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency next summer. If they do, the Lakers will be “one of the teams standing at the front of the line,” according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.
However, the Cavaliers could try to turn the tables on the Lakers by making a run at James instead.
The Cavs already have $156.5 million in active salary on their books for next season, which puts them well above the projected $141 million salary cap. That means they’d only be able to offer James the $12.9 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception as a free agent at best—a $38.5 million discount on his max salary.
To maximize his chances of winning a championship, James theoretically could sign a one-year, minimum-salary contract with the contender of his choosing, whether it’s the Cavs or another team. That would be frowned upon by just about everyone—fans, media and the players union alike—but it’s an option at his disposal, however unlikely it may be.
