It turns out NBA Commissioner Adam Silver may be to blame for LeBron James‘ extended free agency, which stretched into its 24th day on Thursday. James is reportedly expected to choose between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, with the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers the dark-horse candidates.
According to Cleveland radio host Andy Baskin, James was set to make “Decision 4.0” as early as last week, but delayed his announcement after being irked by Silver’s comments urging him to hurry so the NBA could finalize its 2026–27 schedule.
“Here’s what I was told yesterday about the whole LeBron situation. Last week, LeBron’s crew was probably ready to make an announcement, especially because they were in New York,” Baskin said on 92.3 The Fan, via New York Post.
“The world had their eyes on New York because of the World Cup as well.
“They were probably comfortable making an announcement as early as last week,” added the insider, claiming the James did not take kindly to Silver’s remarks.
LeBron James ‘Irritated’ With Adam Silver
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat writer warned that James could deliberately further delay his free agency decision just to tick off the NBA and its media partners.
“And then, people were telling them what to do. There’s a little bit of irritation,” Baskin said of James’ mindset after getting wind of Silver’s comments.
“Irritated was the word I was told, by the commissioner pushing them…so they decided to hold back,” he added.
What exactly did Silver say? Here’s a quick recap:
“…Where LeBron plays will affect the schedule,” Silver said at Fanatics Fest.
“So I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule.
“But it will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc. So I need him to make a decision,” the commissioner added.
Cleveland Cavaliers: The Best Spot for James?
Although the Miami Heat recently bypassed Cleveland as the betting favorite to land James, Channing Frye believes his former teammate gives himself the best chance at a fifth title by returning to his hometown franchise, where he could share ball-handling duties with James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
“He [LeBron] and James Harden would be a great matchup,” Frye told “Yahoo Sports Daily on Tuesday,” via ESPN Cleveland. “I even talked to James the other day, the other night. And he was like, ‘yo, we’re just waiting on big fella.’”
Frye also argued that Miami would be a poor fit for James, pointing out the stylistic overlap and redundancy a pairing with Giannis Antetokounmpo would create.
“I don’t like the roster in Miami at all,” he warned. “There’s not enough shooters. Giannis plays more of a Jokic-style basketball where he has to have the ball in his hands, and then now you’re making LeBron James a spot-up shooter.”
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