LeBron James is heading for a big decision.
Maybe it's not The Decision, but it's not far off.
The Los Angeles Lakers' superstar is entering the final year of his contract. After the season, he'll be a free agent.
ESPN shared in a new article Wednesday that James is "unlikely" to be traded this season, which would then set him up for choices after the 2025-26 campaign concludes.
"When James does become a free agent next summer, there will be no shortage of teams waiting for him," ESPN's Bobby Marks writes. "The crosstown Clippers could have enough money to sign him outright and pair him with Kawhi Leonard. Then there are the championship-caliber teams, Cleveland, New York and Dallas, that only have the veterans minimum exception to offer in free agency. The Warriors would have the non-tax midlevel exception to offer."
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Marks presents maybe the most pertinent point of this entire speculation in his final paragraph of analysis.
By the time this season is done, LeBron will have earned $584 million from his on-court contracts in his NBA career. He'll be 41 years old by the time the season is over.
"(It) begs the question," Marks writes. "Does the chance at a fifth championship outweigh another big payday?"
If it does, then the whole pool opens up. All sorts of teams could chase after James with lower-level deals in the hopes of getting the all-time great onto their roster to try and chase a title.
The reality is that James probably already would have only a few teams or combinations of players he'd want to join, but if money really doesn't matter, then it really all comes down to his decision and nothing else.
James could go for another big payday. It's not up to anyone else to dictate how these superstar athletes choose to pursue money or not.
But it would be logical for James to think less about the dollars and more about the ring when he hits the free agent market.
He's already got $584 million. Another championship is a lot closer to priceless.
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