LeBron James is a free agent, and no one is enjoying that more than his agent Rich Paul. Since news broke that James would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers, Paul has been openly speaking about his client’s free-agent prospects.
Turns out, a lot of teams are interested in the 41-year-old James. That shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise given James’ performance and legacy in the sport.
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What is surprising is how openly Paul has been willing to discuss some of those teams, going so far as to highlight a few of them during a chat on his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman.
During the conversation, Paul pulled out a whiteboard and looked at potential teams that could use James next season. The New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics and many others were among the teams Paul put on the whiteboard.
Other teams listed on Paul’s whiteboard included the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks.
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All of this, of course, should be viewed as Paul hyping up his client to potential teams. That’s not to say those particular teams aren’t interested in James, but Paul is — in some cases — clearly trying to sell some franchises on adding James next season.
Perhaps the most interesting nugget revealed by Paul is that James would definitely be heading to New York had the Knicks not just won a championship.
Paul also claimed the Knicks are among the teams that have checked in on James.
Is every team on Paul’s whiteboard actually interested in James? It wouldn’t be a shock considering he’s LeBron James, but it’s also possible Paul is trying to make connections that aren’t there yet. Almost every one of the names or teams listed on the whiteboard are championship contenders. That clearly matters to James at this point in his career.
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None of this is unexpected from Paul. His job is to drum up interest in his client, even if his client is already one of the most accomplished players in the history of the league.
While James doesn’t necessarily need the public campaign, he’s going to get it. Like it or not, James and Paul have built up so much influence in the sport that it’s going to be impossible to ignore James’ free agency, even when the updates are less about the news and more about grabbing headlines.
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