LeBron James will become a FREE AGENT this summer
All agent Rich Paul had to do Friday evening was pop on TNT’s alternate broadcast of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, discuss client and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James in anodyne fashion, and get out.
“LeBron’s a free agent,” Paul said. “I gotta focus on his business … and let the Lakers hire who they want to hire. He’s always showed up and played for whatever coach is there.”
That would be a less eyebrow-raising statement if James were an unrestricted free agent rather than the holder of a $51 million player option for 2025—a slip of the tongue TNT’s Chris Haynes immediately clocked.
“You said something, Rich. You said LeBron’s a free agent. So I take it LeBron’s gonna decline that player option,” Haynes said.
“Chris, you know I don’t do my business over the air, man,” Paul chided the reporter.
“I understand! I just heard what you said,” Haynes retorted.
