The free agency frenzy has already begun.
LeBron James just wrapped up his 23rd NBA season and is now an unrestricted free agent at 41, and apparently the rest of the league wasted no time picking up the phone.
ESPN senior insider Shams Charania went on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Monday with an update on how James' summer is shaping up.
"I do know a lot of teams are calling him and his camp," Charania said. "I spoke to Rich Paul the other day at the Chicago Draft Combine last week, and he told me every contender in the NBA, essentially, since the season ended has placed a call."
That's a pretty staggering thing to hear, but honestly it tracks with what James showed everyone this past season.
He put up 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds across 60 games for a Los Angeles Lakers team that went 53-29.
Then when the playoffs came around and both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves went down with injuries, James bumped those numbers up to 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds while carrying the Lakers past the Houston Rockets in six games.
The run ended with a sweep against Oklahoma City in round two, but the fact that he got them that far at all was remarkable.
Where Could He Realistically Go?
If James walks away from Los Angeles, there are a handful of realistic options.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished 52-30, are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals, and reportedly have mutual interest in bringing James home.
Donovan Mitchell and James Harden want to recruit him, and ending his career in Cleveland where everything began writes itself.
The Boston Celtics won 56 games this season and still have the roster to compete, and the Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic would pair James with maybe the best passer in basketball.
The problem is money.
Most contenders are capped out and could only offer James the midlevel exception or a veteran minimum, a fraction of the $52.6 million he made last year.
James has earned over $584 million in his career so the paycheck alone won't decide this, but it does narrow the field.
Why the Lakers Are Still the Favorite
Charania pretty much said it himself when he pointed to James' comfort in Los Angeles and the fact that the Lakers want him back.
Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick have both gone public saying they want to bring him back, and league executives think a one-year deal around $30 million makes sense.
James has been with the franchise for eight seasons now, Bronny is on the roster, and the Lakers are building around Doncic, so there's a path to contending without having to start over somewhere new.
"I think the expectation has been that probably you're gonna get one more, and we'll see if it's gonna be with the Lakers or somewhere else," Charania added. "But listen, being in L.A., having that comfortability, and the Lakers want him, I think all those factors do play a part."
Other teams will keep calling.
Whether James picks up is another question entirely.
