Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul did not include the Atlanta Hawks among LeBron James' potential landing spots while discussing the NBA star's future on a recent episode of Game Over. 

Paul is a co-host on the podcast Game Over with former ESPN First Take co-host Max Kellerman. During the July 3 episode, he made a whiteboard laying out LeBron's "realistic" destinations. 

The destinations listed in the center of the whiteboard included the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Miami Heat.

In addition, the whiteboard listed Steph Curry and Draymond Green, hinting at the Golden State Warriors, along with Dallas, the Celtics, the Spurs, and the New York Knicks on the outside of the whiteboard, with the Los Angeles Clippers, but no mention of the Hawks.

During the podcast, Paul hinted at the Sixers having James attention because of their current roster, but he said Miami has the players and coaching staff down south. 

"How could you not have the attention when you have Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown, and Embiid?" Paul said on a recent episode of Gameover.

"You go down south, Mitchell, Wiggins, Giannis, Bam. Plus Pat, Plus Spo," he added. Kellerman emphasized that Miami would take the pressure off James. "At LeBron's age, he can play defense here and there...At 42, he doesn't have the energy to carry the offensive load and play defense on every possession like 2012," Kellerman said. 

"What he needs is a guy like Bam on his team. A guy like Giannis on his team, Wiggins, off night, same thing. Defensively, it's perfect for him. LeBron can shoot from his spots. They need some shooting," he added.

During the interview, Paul hinted that 2026-27 may not be James's last season in the NBA. "Who says this is going to be his last year?" asked Paul.

"He's had that (documentary crew) for the last 4 years. No one said this is going to be his last year. Also, once he gets the green light from Savannah and Zhuri, you can do whatever you want to do. I've heard from the other day that I said 10-12 teams, I counted today. Outside of one organization, maybe two. I've heard from every organization in the league," he added.

While Atlanta wasn't on Paul's whiteboard, he indicated that he had heard from every NBA team. The Hawks' inserting themselves in the conversation speaks volumes about how the team is building from a balanced perspective.

Hawks' president of basketball operations, Onsi Saleh, emphasized that the team will build their roster organically through the draft and cost-effective trades. However, the team will have nearly 30 million in cap space, and the franchise hasn't spent much money this offseason. 

So far, Atlanta extended CJ McCollum to a one-year, $21 million contract, and Buddy Hield has remained in trade talks with his contract close to $10 million ($9.66). The Hawks let Jonathan Kiamigo test free agency. 

Franchises have traded away young cores for free agency possibilities. However, Atlanta continues to build, and its current core consists of Nickeil Alexander-WalkerSmall, Dyson Daniels, Jalen, Onyeka Okongwu, and Kingston Flemings. 

Atlanta could interest LeBron because it would have a young roster that can score and defend. He would also have a strong front office with solid coaching. 

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