The only thing that appears to be a certainty for LeBron James is that the star does not plan to return to the Los Angeles Lakers. Otherwise, James has given little indication about his future plans in NBA free agency.
Yet, the latest odds indicate a big swing when it comes to one team’s chances to land James. The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the favorite to land James in recent days.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors have seen a large boost in the team’s odds over the last 24 hours. The Warriors now have a 21% chance to land James in the latest NBA odds, per Kalshi.
This ties Golden State with the Miami Heat for second in the odds to sign James. The Cavs continue to be a heavy favorite with a 48% chance to have a reunion with James.
Over the last week, the Warriors’ odds dropped to as low as 13.6%. Time will tell if any of these swings in the NBA odds are telling when it comes to James’ actual decision.
Is James giving the Warriors a second look amid the latest buzz about his conversations with Steph Curry and Draymond Green?
It is at least worth monitoring the Warriors rumors given Golden State is a Western Conference foe of the Lakers.
Let’s dive into the latest NBA rumors for the Lakers and Warriors.
LeBron James Rumors: Steph Curry Makes Recruiting Pitch for Warriors Amid NBA Free Agency
For neutral Lakers fans, the best case scenario for Los Angeles is for James to sign with an Eastern Conference team like the Heat or Cavaliers. James joining the Warriors would represent more of a threat for the Lakers.
Curry revealed that he has been in contact with James in recent days. The Golden State star dished on his recruiting pitch to entice James to make a move to the Warriors.
“The pitch is: Do you want to play good basketball and be around people that know how to play the game?” Curry told ESPN’s Anthony Slater in a July 9, media sesson. “Hopefully raise our floor and our competitiveness this year. There’s good golf in the Bay.
“We’re an organization that’s been there. He knows that. That’s really self-explanatory. It’s a matter of where he sees himself fitting. At the end of the day, that’s up to him.”
Lakers Rumors: LeBron James Felt Like He Was No Longer a Priority in LA
As for why James was quick to eliminate the Lakers, it was the star breaking up with the franchise before the team could cut ties with him, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. James sensed that he was no longer a priority in Los Angeles as the team pivoted to Luka Doncic as the face of the franchise.
“He might have been willing to take a pay cut from the $52.6 million he’d made the season before, sources said, if the Lakers explained how they planned to reallocate the money,” Shelburne wrote in a July 6, story titled, “Inside the sterile dissolution of the LeBron-Lakers marriage.”
“They never did, and James never made himself available to meet. He had been a priority enough times in his career to know when he wasn’t one.”
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