LeBron James addressed the various rumors surrounding his possibly upcoming free agency.
James has an opt-out in his contract this offseason, coming off the second straight year that the Lakers have been bounced from the playoffs by the Nuggets.
Posting on X on Tuesday night, James effectively said that no decision has been made.
“I’ve seen, heard a lot of reports about my future. I said it last night and I’ll say it again,” James tweeted.
“I do not know yet as I’m only thinking about spending time with my family & friends! When I know after speaking with the fam, my counsel as well as my representation about it then you guys will know.”
He added “Until then” with a shushing emoji.
It is unclear which reports James is talking about, but the chatter has been percolating all day.
“I do think LeBron intends to opt out of his contract and become a free agent for the first time since 2018,” longtime chronicler and NBA insider Brian Windhorst said Tuesday on ESPN’s “Get Up.”
“I think that will apply a little bit of pressure to the Lakers.”
Windhorst explained what applying pressure would mean.
“I think he wants to see what the Lakers do around the draft,” he added. “They have potentially three first-round picks they can trade, a couple of contracts they can package with it to upgrade the team. You remember that they did no make any significant upgrades to this team at the trade deadline. LeBron did not forget that and I think he likes to have that pressure on them.”
James declined to address his future after the game last night.
“Um, I’m not going to answer that,” James said when asked by a reporter in the postgame press conference. “Appreciate it.”
Before the decisive Game 5, former ESPN broadcaster Cari Champion had tweeted that she had received a text message surmising that it would be James’ final game for the Lakers.