Koby Altman Claims LeBron James And The Cavaliers Have Had ‘Good Dialogue’ About Free Agency


Getty Image

The NBA Finals is over. The draft is done. You know what that means: It’s officially LeBron James free agency season.

James isn’t even technically a free agent yet, and it’s not July, either. But he has the ability to opt out of his deal and get a new contract from someone in the coming weeks. Whether that’s still the Cleveland Cavaliers is anyone’s guess, though James would certainly know better than the rest of us.

Though rumors have swirled that James is only considering a few teams, or that he’s looking for schools for his kids elsewhere, no decision has been made. But according to Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman, the team has been in contact with James about his pending free agency.

That second sentence is telling because it nicely surmises where the Cavaliers (and, really, every team that wants to acquire his services) are at this point in the process: Completely beholden to James and how he wants to handle the matter. If he wants to talk to the Cavaliers about their offseason plans and what changes they can make to compete for a title, that’s on him.

Last season he famously stayed out of their summer plans, including who they drafted and, eventually, traded to the Boston Celtics. It later came out that James tried to convince the Cavs not to trade Kyrie Irving, but it’s clear he was not involved with much that they did. There are already reports that James is testing out other free agents and their summer plans, perhaps as a way to make his own plans to return to Cleveland or go elsewhere. So James will be much more active this summer, obviously. There just isn’t an answer to the most important question: Where will James play this fall?

×