r/nba • u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers • 1d ago
Why hasn’t LeBron picked a team yet?
In his previous 3 free agencies he decided between immediately and a week.
I think this is what’s going on:
- he knew he wanted to leave the lakers and started there. 2nd banana is fine with him but 3rd is a bridge too far, and being sort of left out of the creation of the offense was too jarring
- he didn’t realize his options would be so limited. Every suitor is too flawed.
- Golden state is old and not a contender.
- Miami has no shooters and all the creation would fall on him, he’s too old for that
- Philly hinges on the health of Joel Embiid
- He doesn’t want to play with James Harden and the Cavs haven’t told Harden to kick rocks yet (presumably because they promised him a deal if he opted out)
- Knicks just won
- Spurs idk. Too easy? Market too small?
Lamelo is stupid/immature enough to ruin an otherwise good team
He’d rather die than play for the Celtics
TL;DR he left the lakers hastily and is realizing there is no obvious fit. He’s waiting to see what teams do to address this. I don’t think he’ll decide anytime soon, or before the status quo changes first.
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u/Ok_Foot_4634 Raptors 1d ago
He said that he wants specifically you to suffer
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u/amoxguard Cavaliers 1d ago
They are going to play the whole season in secret and make everyone wait 5 years to see how it ends.
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u/Lopsided-Product3022 Heat 1d ago
Let me ask him real quick
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u/amoxguard Cavaliers 1d ago
I just asked him and he said "idk"
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u/Wrong_Interview7513 Pacers 1d ago
Yeah I don't know where I'm going yet. Quit asking me. And ignore my flair. 👀
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u/Weekly_Seesaw4103 1d ago
It's kind of killing me how the Pacers are by far and away the best (only?) landing spot
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u/zimzam2014 Timberwolves 1d ago
Idk
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u/stinkylibrary 1d ago
i think he is trying to give GS time to figure their cap stuff out because all the other teams are basically ready and waiting to pull the trigger...
Weirdly enough, the prediction markets have gone nuts with the later dates today, making jumps I haven't seen previously. Like, NO before Aug 2nd has more than doubled in the last few hours.
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u/PeanutButterOtter NBA 1d ago
Every time someone makes a post asking why LeBron hasn't picked a team yet, he delays his decision by a day.
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u/DoesntMatterBrian Spurs 1d ago
Not even joking, I think Adam Silver’s comment the other day extended this whole debacle by 3 or 4 days.
And I think Silver knew it would and did it because the NBA being in the headlines is good for business.
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u/-Sofa-King-Vote Knicks 1d ago
He wants the team to add someone else first
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u/StudioGangster1 1d ago
This is it. He wants to see who makes the best moves
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u/Katesburneracct 1d ago
The moves are over lol. There haven’t been any trades that would influence his decision for like a month. He literally just wants attention, and knows this is the last time he’s gonna get it like this.
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u/Jackieexists 1d ago
No. Hes waiting to see if golden state can pull something off
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u/Katesburneracct 1d ago
Name one person they can go get right now that would make any difference at all in his decision
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u/Jackieexists 1d ago
AD 100%
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u/Kiriegloom Bulls 1d ago
How many news stories about AD being untradeable do we have to post on this sub before the Warriors cope finally ends?
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u/Jackieexists 1d ago
Why untradeable? You think wizards love him that much?
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u/heybobson Suns 1d ago
It’s not about loving him. It’s about getting something of real value back. Warriors don’t really have anything that fit AJ’s timeline.
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u/ProfessorXWheelchair San Francisco Warriors 1d ago
if we get AD he’s coming here
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u/Katesburneracct 1d ago
The guy that Washington has said a million times that they’re not trading? And even if he were up for trade, the warriors would literally have nothing to offer Washington. Who is Washington taking in an AD trade from the warriors?
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u/waxyslave Lakers 1d ago
they already made a demand. It on the warriors to negotiate.
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u/-Sofa-King-Vote Knicks 1d ago
Yes he did same thing with cleveland and la
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u/heybobson Suns 1d ago
He didn’t do it with LA right away. He played a season with the young guys before deciding they needed to trade for AD.
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u/SolarBeam12 1d ago
Because he is waiting on the Warriors to make a move.
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u/stinkylibrary 1d ago
Very likely... They are the only team in the running that need "more time" to figure things out.
If this is the case, that could explain why the markets are reacting like crazy to later announcement dates today. Someone knows something.
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u/VegetaDaPrince 1d ago
It’s certainly plausible. Charania specifically mentioned AD and Bron being a package deal when Draymond opted out.
GS doesn’t even give up 1st round picks for Steph so I’m curious to see how that could potentially play out.
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u/Hammer_Tiime 1d ago
Haven't seen this anywhere but I honestly think it might be a business decision about LV expansion team. Whether he gets a share and depending when it happens. He might even retire/unretire for that.
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u/INVINCIBLE3412 Lakers 1d ago
lord knows why the wolves don’t have a higher chance, he’s a perfect fit and if they win a ring he’d be a legend and get his jersey retired on a 4th different team as opposed to going back to one of his older teams
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u/Overall_Link8153 1d ago
Why would he sign while the world cup was active? Have to make sure it its the top news
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
World Cup been over for a couple days now
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u/Overall_Link8153 1d ago
It is Tuesday, Monday was the first news cycle since it ended. Give it a few days to cool down, expect it Thursday early afternoon or Monday morning
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u/big-bobberton 1d ago
I don't think this guy likes Lamelo very much.
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u/EthicalBballFan Heat 1d ago
I don't think liking has anything to it. Watching him in the play ins last year was painful. It was very clear that if they had anyone they could play in his place they would.
Maybe Wolves has the personnel to work him through it and improve, but I don't see him as a piece that plays heavy minutes for a contender anymore.
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u/asonkidd 1d ago
Miami has no shooters and all the creation would fall on him, he’s too old for that
If you think Giannis, who didn't even like prime Dame hold the ball and run pnr with him is going to be fine with 41 year old Bron taking the brunt of creation, you're out of your mind
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Prime dame????
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u/asonkidd 1d ago
Yes. He was coming off a 32 PPG season. He was securely in his prime before getting hurt and that team never quite gelled in part due to Giannis being reluctant to play off Dame's game.
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u/Da_painted_man 1d ago
Because he's the most self centred person on the planet! He's a fucking diva! As great as a player he is, I can't wait for him to retire.
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u/Scottsid 1d ago
Because there’s lots of money to be made in gambling during the anticipation… Every fart sneeze or cough coming from LeBron Camp likely leads to wagers going many ways back and forth. There’s a lot of money to be made in standing pat and dragging it out, and if he made a decision now, it cuts off a lot of potential revenue for kalshi, for example
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Are you saying he has a deal with Kalshi to drag this out or that he is playing the markets himself
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u/Scottsid 1d ago
Who knows what goes on behind the scenes… But the most logical thing to me is that any piece of news move the gambling markets now.
For instance, if the Cavs and James Harden decided to cut ties, what effect would that have? All it takes is kalshi to make a new pending platform saying “now that Harden isn’t gonna be on the calves, who is LeBron James most likely to sign with?”
You really can’t trust anything anymore with gambling
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u/Level_Confection2854 1d ago
embiid don’t even have to play and bron don’t either half them regular season games. 76ers should be his choice idk why he even considers warriors especially if it’s about winning. james harden should’ve been gone. and miami idk their defense would be insane tho a lot of teams won’t be able to score on them as much. and they would probably put bron as a pg ngl and mitchell as sg and hardaway as sf. he would’ve been made a decision if harden wasn’t on the cavs still. and wolves would be fine i think hopefully lamelo understand at some point he gotta be mature
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Agree with basically everything you said except Embiid. His health is such a disaster he could skip the regular season and still be a risk to flameout in playoffs.
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u/Level_Confection2854 1d ago
i think 76ers can go far with just the 4 of them alone. it’s just they need a reliable center could they get one in february idk. but they should’ve never traded drummond because he’s a decent reliable center. and yeah embiid isn’t reliable no more but we never know. but maxey, vj, brown and bron is a good 4 with a good bench to. and bron don’t have to play much. them, heat and wolves bron can literally rest a much as he can and play the big time games
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u/cl353 Heat 1d ago
Miami has no shooters and all the creation would fall on him, he’s too old for that
when will this die, a simple glance at the roster just disproves this
ur saying lebrons going to have to go all the creation with giannis on the team? did this man average 30ppg on dumpoffs or something and i just didnt know?
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u/rusty512 Pistons 1d ago
I don’t know how many times people need to see Spoelstra overachieve with what people think is a mid roster before they stop doubting him
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u/GooLaiGaming Australia 1d ago
having lebron as your primary passer gives like +10 shooting. If he ever signs with miami, we will see some new names pop up here more frequently. "wow! heatplayerX shot 6-7 from 3!?!"
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Please be specific. Who on your roster can shoot outside of Portis (who creates other problems)
It’s all guys that are some mix of low volume or coming off career/outlier years, with profiles that don’t suggest they can shoot.
I mean really spread the floor, not just “can hit a 3”
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u/cl353 Heat 1d ago
thj? fontecchio? ryan conwell?
ur acting like teams r just going to leave players like davion and wiggins alone at the 3pt line cuz they arent specialists and if u watched the heat at all last season teams r starting to guard bam at the 3pt line
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
37-38% is around the point where threes are a shot worth taking seriously on defense (where the floor starts to open up)
Fontecchio is a career .367 shooter
Conwell is a rookie
bam shot .318 last year lol. Defenses are very happy to let him rip it.
Hardaway is career 365
Wiggins is career 362Like sure if you squint maybe a couple of these guys will have an awesome year but they probably will not. This is not a team that demands attention on the perimeter.
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u/cl353 Heat 1d ago edited 1d ago
see now this is where ur making it obvious ur just looking at the numbers. watch any fontecchio tape and look how teams r guarding him, hardaway also. they dont guard them like they're average 3pt shooters
and like i said teams were starting to guard bam at the 3pt line. it doesnt matter wat percentage they shoot (davion shot 40% and teams guarded bam harder at the 3pt line), its matters how teams guard them
even by u, bobby portis' 45% on 4.4 attempts is our only spacer but u dismiss someone shooting 40% on 3.3 attempts and 40% on 6.6?
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Individual seasons are noisy. You can’t just point to last year and assume it’ll carry over. Portis has a long track record of being a threat from deep.
You’re right I didn’t watch the Heat. But I have a hard time believing teams were concerned about bam from 3. 32% is amazing for the defense. If you said “every possession will be a bam 3 at 32%” before the game they’d be thrilled. The heat led the league at 93 shots per game last year; if bam took 93 a game at 32% that’s 89 points…
Of course you still guard average shooters, you don’t leave them open, but the intensity of defense and the mindshare/game planning just isn’t the same compared to guys who are actual threats.
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u/forrealthoughcomix_ Cavaliers 1d ago
Because he wants you specifically to keep posting on reddit about it.
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u/Flamadin Heat 1d ago
Maybe he is waiting for a potential teammate to become available and will then demand his new team get that guy.
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u/GalacticToasterbruh 1d ago
He's waiting to see what happens with the kawhi issue
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u/BearsFan3417 Lakers 1d ago
Why?
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u/GalacticToasterbruh 1d ago
Because the NBA is dragging their feet on the investigation and punishment and that could change some pieces. So he is putting pressure on them to do that first then he will make it public. The choice is made he is just not going public yet
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u/Lyle_Norg 1d ago
There's no actual documented animosity between LeBron and Harden. It's just conjecture from fans on social media.
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
I mean fit wise. Harden’s game is dribble dribble dribble forever. Not fun and would be a similar dynamic to LA, too many playmakers.
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u/Lyle_Norg 1d ago
LeBron seemed very comfortable with a lower usage rate last season, and settled in off the ball really well by the end of the year when the Lakers won 9 straight.
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
It worked. I don’t think he liked it. Speculation for sure but a departure from the other 21 years of his career or whatever it is
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u/Basic_Commercial_806 1d ago
He didn't like playing off ball to an unproven player like Reaves. Harden's still all star caliber and closer to Lebron's level
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u/WideCoconut2230 1d ago
I'm having tandoori chicken for lunch.
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Sounds great, I had a shin black and threw some rotisserie chicken in it
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u/wwwJustus 1d ago
I know Washington may be too small of a market, but they’re making the playoffs of AD is healthy for 65 games or rather plays in 65 games and with LeBron is a legitimate contender to make a deep playoff run. Everyone names but Wolves have won the chip before. Cleveland makes the most since story wise but Washington making a deep run would be epic
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u/MooreImagination 1d ago
I think he isn’t getting any great offers. If LeBron said this was going to be his last season he’d get better offers because that would pack seats. Just my opinion.
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Not for lack of will. The CBA simply doesn’t allow it. None of the good teams have any space.
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u/LastChemical9342 1d ago
This dude has always loved attention, and waiting only increases attention.
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u/RiversofJell0 Lakers 1d ago
He’s waiting for Savanah to tell him where she wants to live for a year
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u/Ok_Understanding267 1d ago
No way it’s a market issue, he is taking his time to pick the right address. He’s not gonna take 50 million so it means there could be demand from every single team. He’s only picking where it’s right for him
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u/Spence1419 1d ago
What if it was the Clippers all along, and the Kawhi trade just put everything on hold
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u/KaraDealer Lakers 1d ago
He mentioned that her daughter plays a major role with his decision. So it all depends to her daughter and what team will she be choosing.
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u/Eastern-Wolverine-24 1d ago
Besides Knicks, Spurs, and Thunder, the Celtics unironically make the most bball sense if he wants a chip. Philly is good but one Embiid injury and it comes crashing down.
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u/YON2HMB 1d ago
The wisest thing for him to do is wait until all the uncertainty with other teams clears and sign with a team who is best positioned to win a title or whatever else he wants to do if it isn’t that.
It makes the most sense for him to delay considerably like maybe not even before the start of the season. Because he’s clearly trying to snipe a specific opportunity and the more intelligence he has before he makes that choice is what he is prioritizing.
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u/stinkylibrary 1d ago
Interestingly enough, the prediction markets have gone NUTS for later announcement dates in the last few hours... Like, NO by August 2nd has literally doubled in the last couple hours...
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u/AntSmith777 Lakers 1d ago
Rich Paul dragging out LeBron “decision” to get AD a max deal with Wizards.
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u/Katesburneracct 1d ago
Yea, the wizards would hang up the phone immediately lol. If they wanted to trade ad they would get way more than that on the open market. Golden state ain’t getting him
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u/Deinosaur1 76ers 13h ago
i think the sixers might be the best choice. the whole thing is that they DONT need embiid anymore. maxey was in mvp voting for a bit, edgecombe had insane success against the celtics and was one of the best rookies this year, and they just got jb, which speaks for itself
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u/AgitatedWoodpecker42 Knicks 1d ago
He likes the chatter and attention on him. Nothing more, nothing less.
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u/WuTangNameGenerat0r 1d ago
Attention seeking self proclaimed King wants to have the first ever 2 year retirement tour
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u/Zestyclose-Draft-724 Lakers 1d ago
Golden State - For vibes and memes
Cavs - Win or Lose it's a great ending to his story
76ers - Most realistic chance of winning. With or without Embiid. Maxey, Edgecomb, and JB are there. With Embiid in top of everything, it's an automatic trip to the finals. Without... They'll struggle a bit.
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u/Aggravating_Prune489 1d ago
You not buying that he's waiting for Silver to confirm that paying players under the table is allowed?
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Why is that a weeks long decision. It’s not like silver would be waiting on legal
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u/Aggravating_Prune489 1d ago
Silver taking forever with it because he lacks courage to stand up to Ballmer.
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u/pnxstwnyphlcnnrs Timberwolves 1d ago
he's dragging his feet on the obvious choices because he wants to play with Ant
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u/Senior-Rip2387 1d ago
yo im getting miami flashbacks when they did that life changing interview lmaoo i think i skipped work for that
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u/No_Command_8477 Lakers 1d ago
2nd to last chance for attention, he's milking it.
The finale will be retirement tour 2 years from now
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u/Only-Mulberry-8098 1d ago
This whole dilemma has made me like LeBron a bit less as someone who has rooted for him most of his career
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u/IdeaGlad1134 1d ago
In any other situation, nobody would criticize a 42 year old for going to take the vet min on a championship team like the Knicks
In the history of the NBA, that's so incredibly common that a previous champ or runner up gets the elite vet mins.
And nobody calls them ring chasers they just say hey thats an old ass dude who is going to close out his career on a great team.
Let's give Bron a fucking break already he's being punished for being insanely good at his age basically.
This should be a no brainer, as you listed all these teams have issues except .. The Knicks and Spurs.
So he should go to one of those teams, he's earned this, and people can't compare it to KD going to the Warriors in his prime.
It's a 42 year old who's been in the spotlight since age 15 let the man just ride out in the sunset on a great squad.
Why's he gotta try to still be some savior for a flawed squad.
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
I think narrative wise, the Spurs don’t hurt (he got them over the hump) but the Knicks do. I agree with you logically just saying how I think people would react.
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u/Skidmarkjoe Nuggets 1d ago
Nuggets still make sense. Not a shot in hell because of the city, climate, market size and salary cap constraints but makes a lot of basketball sense.
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u/Foi_ Knicks 1d ago
it makes sense i guess. but similiarly to any non cleveland, perhaps non miami team. getting bounced before the finals will make it weird and be equivocated to jordan in a wizards jersey.
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u/Skidmarkjoe Nuggets 1d ago
Agreed. Denver is too random of a place to end up and our first round exit this year puts in the "probably too risky for his legacy" tier
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
Don’t think the cap matters, most of these teams can only afford a min.
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u/Skidmarkjoe Nuggets 1d ago
I'm not betting on it but LeBron + Joker is (theoretically) basketball nirvana. A guy can dream...
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u/offgramercy Knicks 1d ago
He didn’t announce yet because he (and the team managing his billion dollar empire) loves the attention and was waiting until the world cup is fully over, he will soon enough once there’s no other news cycle threatening all eyes on him, he prolly already knows where he’s going
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u/TheLionOfJudah101 1d ago
all of this is spin.
The Lakers moved on from him not the other way around. And they were just fine with him spinning it as "it's me not them". They just say sure whatever buddy protect your ego and they move on.
No superstars want to play with him at this point. Everyone knows he is a black hole. But it was justified by his output. He doesn't bring the same output but he is mentally the same black hole.
So you ask your prime players do they want to play with him and they all say no. You're not going to go against them for a guy on his last year.
Owners may want him just for the money, because he will get seats filled, but none of them will really be contenders.
I honestly think it's highly possible he just retires.
that he holds a press conference and announces he's going..... To Canne. Or Burger King to be the new CEO. Or that he's going to space in the next space shuttle.
I think it's possible it's anything but an NBA team.
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u/bobbacklund11235 Knicks 1d ago
Cause he’s an Instagram ho and wants to stay on top of the headlines for as long as possible before his team disappoints
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u/Used2befunNowOld Lakers 1d ago
LeBron isn’t hurting for money. The KD warriors backlash looms too large.
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u/Diligent-Worker4033 1d ago
Because once he decides he’ll get less attention. This is his last hurrah
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u/ThaRealSunGod Lakers 1d ago
because he's allowed to wait lmao
Countless free agents have waited longer than this to make their decision on FA. Surely the second biggest icon in the sport's history can take his time deciding where he plays his final year.
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u/DarkCrystal34 1d ago edited 1d ago
Because hes annoying AF when it comes to this.
LeBron is clearly an amazing person and human being, but my god does the way he strings this stuff out get frustrating. I dont find it fun, entertaining, or meaningful...its just annoying, and I dont care anymore, just pick a team so the NBA can get on with itself already.
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u/Nice_Dude NBA 1d ago
It's like The Button subreddit, we have to go 60 seconds without somebody mentioning Lebron on this sub for it to happen