In case you haven’t heard, LeBron James is going to be an unrestricted free agent next summer and for the first time since 2014, the world’s best basketball player is hitting the market with a real chance of him signing elsewhere.
Having accomplished his goal of bringing Cleveland a championship, James could choose to leave the Cavaliers this summer with a clean conscience, something he clearly didn’t have after his first departure from his hometown in 2010. Cleveland remains the favorite in the minds of most considering LeBron’s obvious love for northeast Ohio, but plenty of other teams figure to be in the mix.
Most prominently, the Los Angeles Lakers will be making a very aggressive pitch for James to join Lonzo Ball and the budding young core they have in L.A. — and, they hope, another star free agent signing like Paul George. However, one of the biggest reasons people point to L.A. as a likely destination for James is his budding entertainment business which is based there.
James has found success behind the scenes as a producer and on-screen as an actor, most notably stealing the show in Trainwreck. However, as his business manager and James’ co-founder of SpringHill Entertainment explained on The Rich Eisen Show on AT&T Audience Network on Wednesday, playing for the Lakers wouldn’t provide any added benefit to James’ efforts off the court in the entertainment world.
“These days, it doesn’t matter anymore,” Carter said. “Think about it. The Lakers and the Knicks have been bad, the Knicks for a very long time. The Lakers since Kobe aged out of being one of the best players in the league, and basketball’s growing and doing as great as ever with teams in Oklahoma City and Cleveland. These days it doesn’t matter, because you can be known and be a star from anywhere. Anywhere in the world. So, it doesn’t actually matter. I mean, could he sell a few more sneakers if he were in a gigantic market like Boston or Chicago or New York or L.A.? Maybe. But not as much is if he wins. What matters the most is when he wins. When you win, as an athlete, that matters the most.
“I understand why people keep saying that and thinking that, but the reason it doesn’t make sense is if he plays in L.A. or if he plays on the moon, he can only shoot movies for three months. It doesn’t matter. Even if he played in L.A. and he wanted to be in a movie, he basically can’t shoot from September until June. He also could [take a meeting] these days from anywhere in the world, A. And B, we’re doing fine without him living here and playing here. He has a home here in the offseason and he lives here in the offseason… The company doesn’t need him to be here and if he wants to act in movies, it doesn’t matter cause he only gets three months a year to do it anyways.
“And to your question about the meetings. He’s LeBron, Rich. People will go where he is. Like, it actually works. If LeBron’s like, I’m in Detroit and it’s 10 below. People go, ‘Ahhh, we’ve got coats. We’ll be there.’ People will go where LeBron is.”
Obviously, this isn’t to say the Lakers won’t have a chance at LeBron, but it’s clear that Carter wants people to pump the brakes on the assumption that his budding media empire will play a major role in his decision. As Carter notes, the biggest thing will be about winning for LeBron, not being able to sneak out on an off day to the office to take a meeting.
If James thinks he can win in Cleveland, you’d have to say they’re the favorite, but if they continue to struggle and it spills over into the playoffs, that is what will open the door for a departure more than him wanting to be closer to Hollywood. The Lakers will have money and, if they can clear the cap space for James and have room to convince another star free agent to join, maybe that’ll be enough to get him to L.A., but proving the team can win immediately will be of far greater importance than reminding him that his company will now be down the road.
