Looming over everything across the entire NBA all season long has been LeBron James‘ pending free agency. The Cavs’ ongoing struggles prior to the trade deadline certainly exacerbated that as morale in the Cleveland locker room deteriorated to a point that we haven’t witnessed in many years.
An upcoming LeBron James free agency is a time of mass hysteria, when every tiny kernel of an idea gets blown way out of proportion, and every third day features a new prospective story line in which he’s head to Los Angeles, Houston, or any number of other locales.
The Philadelphia 76ers are among the teams expected to make a strong push for LeBron, given their status as an up-and-coming contender that will be flush with cash this summer. Ben Simmons began the recruitment on Instagram over All-Star Weekend and that was followed up by a series of billboards that popped up over the weekend around the Cleveland area beckoning LeBron to come to the Sixers this summer. As is his wont, LeBron did little to dispel that idea, opting instead to marvel at how flattering it is to be so dearly coveted.
"People in their respective city want me to play for them. That's cool I think. That's dope."
LeBron on the #PhillyWantsLeBron billboard (via @cavs) pic.twitter.com/Top1Zi9zBe
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 27, 2018
“You could say it’s a distraction. It’s not,” LeBron said. “It’s actually very flattering, sitting here at 33 in my fifteenth year, with people in their respective city want me to play for them. I mean, that’s cool. That’s dope.”
LeBron has always kept his cards close to his chest when it comes to situations like this, so it’s a fool’s errand to expect anything different. But it bears mentioning that the Cavs got significantly better at the trade deadline and most likely have the advantage when it comes to his future.
Still, we’ll have absolutely no clue where he’s headed until he announces that decision, and the rampant speculation isn’t likely to subside anytime between now and then.
