There will be no dog and pony show for LeBron James this summer. The Cleveland Cavaliers star might not be playing in Cleveland this fall, but if he hits the open market it seems James already knows the lay of the land enough that teams won’t have to throw themselves at him.
James is expected to opt out of his player option later this week, clearing the way to enter the open market and potentially leave the Cavaliers for the second time in his career. What happens after that is very much up in the air, but one thing we know is that James will have a much different free agency period this summer.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported on Monday that a potential free agency for James will be different than his previous two times on the market. Shelburne reported that James still hasn’t decided whether he’ll decline his player option and opt into the market, though it almost certainly will happen.
The significant change this time around, however, is that James doesn’t want elaborate free agency pitches from potential suitors, something that happened with his first Decision in 2010.
While James hasn’t decided yet whether to pick up his player option, sources close to the situation tell ESPN that he has no intention of hearing elaborate pitch meetings from teams.
James might meet or speak with a club official or owner at some point, but the elaborate presentations that have become common in NBA free agency over the years are unnecessary after 15 seasons in the league.
Shelburne said if James becomes a free agent, he and agents Rich Paul and Mark Termini understand the market enough that they don’t need to host big meetings with teams. Those meetings were the focus of his initial free agency in 2010. James met with representatives from six teams — the Knicks, Heat, Bulls, Nets, Cavs and Clippers — ultimately deciding on national television to play for the Heat.
Things were different in 2014, when James only met with the Cavs and Heat while his agents met with other interested teams. James eventually announced in Sports Illustrated that he would return to Cleveland, a much different approach to his second Decision.
It’s extremely likely that when James makes his decision this time around, he announces it via his Uninterrupted platform. He’s said in the past that he would have done his initial ‘Decision’ very differently this time around, and it seems that’s the case with a lot of aspects about this process.
