LeBron James reportedly declines $35.6 player option, will enter free agency

CLEVELAND– LeBron James has declined his $35.6 player option and will become an unrestricted free agent. The move was originally reported by Joe Vardon of cleveland.com:

LeBron James’ agent informed the Cavs he will not exercise his $35.6 million option and thus will become an unrestricted free agent, sources told @clevelanddotcom … Story coming

— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) June 29, 2018

James had until 11:59 tonight to inform the Cavaliers of his decision. Free agency officially begins on July 1, after which James is free to choose to join any team in the league, including the Cavaliers. The Cavs can offer him more than any other team, a five-year max contract worth a whopping $205 million. While other teams have to wait until Sunday to begin pitching the super star, the Cavs don’t have to wait since he is already on their team.

James has changed teams as a free agent twice in his career. The first time was in 2010 when he went from the Cavs to Miami and announced the move via the now infamous ‘Decision’ special on ESPN. The second time was in 2014 when he returned to Cleveland and announced the move via a letter in Sports Illustrated.

While plenty of rumors swirl about where James will land, he’s been largely silent on social media since the playoffs began. He’s been on vacation with his wife and children post-Finals, after what was arguably his most expending year since returning to the Cavs in 2014.

The 33-year-old averaged 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists. For the first time in his career he played in all 82 regular season games, 104 in total with playoffs.

Any deal that would have required an opt-in and trade is now officially off the table. The immediate two favorite teams for James to suit up for in 2018-19 are the Cavs and the Los Angeles Lakers. James already owns a home in Los Angeles and also has a production company, while the Lakers have enough salary-cap space to sign two max-contract players, like James and either Kawhi Leonard or Paul George.

Leonard has expressed his desire to be traded out of San Antonio, but it’s unclear where he will land if the Spurs decide to trade him at all this summer. George has opted to become a free agent and can hit the open market on Sunday, but could still receive the most money from Oklahoma City.

In Cleveland, the Cavs will certainly have to get him a few more pieces after a year that featured a rotating cast of role players. But arguably the biggest draw for him with the Cavs is being home. When James returned in 2014, he did so with the intent of retiring here– he reiterated that desire as recently as media day back in September. He has also previously said that his children will play a bigger factor this time around since they are older. But still, James has also stated he feels like he has nothing left to prove at this rate, especially considering that he brought the first title to Cleveland since 1964 by overcoming a 3-1 deficit.

“At the end of the day, I came back because I felt like I had some unfinished business,” James said following Game 4 of the Finals. “To be able to be a part of a championship team two years ago with the team that we had and in the fashion that we had is something I will always remember. Honestly, I think we’ll all remember that. It ended a drought for Cleveland of 50-plus years, so I think we’ll all remember that in sports history.”