LeBron James is a free agent. According to multiple reports from around the NBA, James is declining to opt in on the player option on the last year of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, meaning he’ll be permitted to chat with other teams beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET on Sunday.
While this may sound like a titanic development, we’re not quite there yet. This is actually the third time LeBron has opted out of his Cavs contract since he re-joined the team in 2014. He did so in 2015 and 2016 in order to sign more lucrative short-term contracts, and it is entirely possible he could be executing this maneuver again.
He also still has the ability to sign a long-term contract with Cleveland. According to ESPN, the Cavs can offer LeBron a five-year max deal worth around $207 million, while the most other teams can give him is a four-year contract that’d pay him $152 million.
For more details: slate.com