LOS ANGELES — Rich Paul, the agent for NBA superstar LeBron James, said his 41-year-old client has 10 realistic destinations next season after saying he will leave the Los Angeles Lakers.
James, a four-time NBA champion and four-time Most Valuable Player, announced earlier this week he would not return to the Lakers and seeks a new team in free agency for his 24th NBA campaign.
Paul said he has fielded a number of calls from NBA teams, telling James they were a tribute to his career and expected skill at 41.
“These calls I’m getting are a true testament to how you have respect in this game,” Paul said he told James in an edition of the agent’s “Game Over” podcast released on Friday.
A large whiteboard showed teams Paul said would be a logical fit for James, including the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves.
In hyping the case for his client, Paul also mentioned Dallas, Boston, San Antonio and New York, saying James would be bound for the Knicks had they not won the NBA title last month.
Philadelphia made a strong case by landing Jaylen Brown from Boston in a reported deal that cannot be signed or confirmed until next week under NBA free agency rules.
Adding James to a starting squad of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Brown would create a formidable lineup, Paul notes.
Paul also looked at the Miami Heat, who added Giannis Antetokounmpo to Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell and Andrew Wiggins, as well as Denver and Minnesota.
Asked about some of the longshot mentions such as San Antonio or Boston, Paul said if a club wasn’t in consideration, “they wouldn’t be on the board.” Golden State, represented on the board by Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, was tucked away in a distant corner rather than listed among the contenders with double the number of reasons for James to land there. AFP