LeBron James' pending free agency this summer has been one of the major storylines of the NBA season, and while a number of teams have been lining up to pursue him once he hits the open market, The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor reports that James will only consider signing with four teams.
LeBron James will likely be a free agent this offseason and sources say he'd only currently consider joining the Cavaliers, Lakers, Rockets and 76ers.
The Cavaliers can re-sign James to a five-year max contract, while the Lakers and 76ers can create max cap space.
For James to join the Rockets, he'd likely need to orchestrate an opt-in-and-trade similar to Chris Paul's move last June from the Clippers to Houston.
James is expected to decline the $34.6 million player option on his contract for next season in order to explore his options in free agency.
Philadelphia has emerged as a favorite because they may present LeBron his best chance at long-term success. The 76ers have the second-youngest roster in the league, headlined by a pair of superstars in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and have enough cap space to sign him to a max contract while also keeping all of their current pieces.
The Lakers cleared enough cap space in the Isaiah Thomas trade to sign two players to max contracts in free agency this summer, something that has been the plan since new team president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka took over. Their top targets are LeBron and Paul George.
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Likewise, Houston is hoping to pitch LeBron on taking less money in order to play alongside best friend Chris Paul and James Harden.
Cleveland, obviously, can offer him more money and allow him to stay in his current situation. However, his relationship with owner Dan Gilbert is a big reason why he's looking at other options this summer.
The Los Angeles Clippers were also planning to pursue him on the open market but it doesn't appear that they'll get a meeting with him.
James is averaging 27.0 points, 9.0 assists, and 8.4 rebounds per game this season.
NEXT READ: Here Are The Odds On Which Team LeBron James Will Be Playing For Next Season
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