Take all the time you want, LeBron. It’s your life.
Yes, it’s annoying to have to hear about it every day, but it’s your decision when to tell us where you’re going to play your 24th season of pro ball.
So, go ahead, keep NBA schedule-makers on pins and needles. Savor having workers at my local Trader Joe’s discussing your future on a Monday in the middle of July. Enjoy your twilight limelight.
But don’t tell us, on podcasts and in public appearances, that the factors you’re prioritizing are A) whether a team is built to win now; B) the proximity to your home in L.A.; and C) not money, but overall happiness — and then signal it might be the Golden State Warriors.
The Cleveland Cavaliers? They check all the boxes. That’s “home” for real. And the Cavs are ready to win with a veteran difference-maker such as LeBron. Absolutely, it would be a happily-ever-after conclusion to the LeBron epic.
The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers? Nowhere close to home, but they check a box too: They’re both set up to win — and in the Eastern Conference, where they won’t have to go through the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder to reach an NBA Finals.
The Warriors, though?
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They check no boxes. Not a one. Not in 2026.
That would be a … choice. But let no one act like this would be LeBron leaving the Lakers for a more competitive situation. It wouldn’t be LeBron landing in a more desirable locale.
Line up Cleveland, Philadelphia, Miami and Golden State and it’s like seeing three diamonds and a square on “Sesame Street.” A 3-year-old could tell that one of those is not like the others. But that’s the third-most likely destination, as of Tuesday morning, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Sure, once upon a time, a starting lineup of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis would have beaten almost anybody. But even those guys — besides 30-year-old Porzingis, they’re all in their late-30s or early 40s, with a ton of NBA mileage — aren’t beating Father Time.
Remember when the Lakers put together a roster awash in washed-up stars in 2021, and how disastrous that was? Turns out pairing Carmelo Anthony, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, DeAndre Jordan and, yes, Russell Westbrook was a recipe for a truly awful 33-win team.
And the Warriors? They couldn’t get out of the play-in tournament last season, when Curry played only 43 games and Butler played only 38. Also, remember, for the first time in LeBron’s career, the now 41-year-old wasn’t available to start the season. He missed the first 14 games with sciatica.
Maybe Golden State could conjure up some magic in a playoff series — but over an 82-game regular-season marathon? No way, LBJ.
Former Lakers star LeBron James (23) and former Warriors forward Draymond Green, who opted out of his contract this summer, could team up with Golden State. Or maybe not. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
It could be that winning isn’t everything for LeBron. The man’s legacy is locked. He’s won four NBA titles, three Olympic gold medals, 1,229 NBA games and counting. And he’s winning this summer’s engagement game too.
Perhaps it’s come to a point that he just wants to play with his friends, and after earning $53 million with the Lakers last season, he’s willing to sign a deal with Golden State for between $3.9 and $6 million — which is what the Warriors could pay him, according to ESPN cap expert Bobby Marks — to do that.
That’s lovely, but it doesn’t change the fact that LeBron wouldn’t be happy losing.
And losing when he’s the addition to Steph’s team — and make no mistake, the Warriors are Steph’s team — really wouldn’t be fun.
The superstar wars that will be fought between both players’ infamously, uh, passionate fandoms wouldn’t be fun.
The daily drumbeat of criticism from talking heads who tuned into all of those televised games — not fun.
But the commute! It’s only 380 miles or so from Brentwood to Chase Center, and that’s much closer than Cleveland or Philly or Miami.
That makes sense — if you forget there are two NBA teams in the very city where LeBron’s family lives. And on paper, they’re both better than the Warriors. And his son plays for one of them!
But one of those teams is the Clippers and the other has moved on from LeBron.
Oh, the irony.
The Lakers, if they weren’t the ex-team, would check all the boxes. They’re going to be competitive. They’re a group LeBron enjoyed playing with. They are home. And LeBron would check a pretty big box for them too, if money really isn’t a deciding factor.
But the Lakers have replaced LeBron with Walker Kessler, the 24-year-old defensive center who is the perfect complement to Luka Doncic. They’ve put in place the pillars for their future, though they do still happen to have a LeBron-sized hole at forward that isn’t going to be filled by LeBron.
And that’s OK. The next chapter will start eventually, and likely it will be set in a location where LeBron can compete and have a good time, and that he and his family can feel good about.
Or in San Francisco.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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