On Tuesday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Tim Bontemps listed the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Clippers as potential teams LeBron James could play for next season after speaking with more than a dozen league insiders.
But James’ agent and business partner, Rich Paul, isn’t having it.
“There’s no truth to any of it,” he said on the Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman. “First of all, I don’t know what’s happening. … He don’t know either! We don’t even talk about it. The conversation—exactly what we do talk about, what he talks about more than anything—man, just enjoy the moment. The man is playing minutes with his son. Meaningful minutes! … The Lakers are 12-1 and playing well… why are you talking about some stuff for next year? I get you have to talk about it, I have a feel for the business, but it’s just like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know.’ Nobody knows! I don’t care what article is written, I don’t care what tweet is out there, nobody knows anything.”
James’ future remains a subject of great interest, given that he’s 41 and seems likely to at least contemplate retirement this offseason. If he does return to the NBA, he’ll be a free agent and likely will be choosing which team will be the final destination of his career. It has everybody’s curiosity piqued.
But Paul’s point is that no decision has been made. For now, James is focused on trying to lead the Lakers to another title.