{"id":793274,"date":"2026-07-22T21:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/793274\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T21:00:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:00:21","slug":"miami-heat-gain-major-momentum-in-lebron-james-race-after-new-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/793274\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Heat Gain Major Momentum in LeBron James Race After New Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Los\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 27: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on March 27, 2024 in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Ford\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Miami Heat<\/a> has not landed LeBron James<\/a> in free agency. At least not yet. But soon?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miami has been met with competition from the Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a>, Philadelphia 76ers<\/a>, Golden State Warriors<\/a> and Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, but it appears the Heat may be the one gaining the most momentum as of late.<\/p>\n

According to the Dallas Hoops Journal, the Heat\u2019s position in the James sweepstakes has strengthened<\/a> with the Warriors and Cavs unlikely to land Anthony Davis<\/a>, the player many viewed as the ultimate domino in James\u2019 free agency decision.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Klutch is trying to get AD to Cleveland or Golden State,\u2019 a source told Dallas Hoops Journal,\u201d the report said. \u201c\u2018Neither team wants to do it. Miami is the frontrunner now. Giannis and Bam have been in LeBron\u2019s ear nonstop.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Miami Heat Destined to Sign LeBron James After Rival Suitors Hit Roadblock?\"Los<\/p>\n

GettyCLEVELAND, OHIO \u2013 JANUARY 28: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on January 28, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 129-99. (Photo by Jason Miller\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Earlier this offseason, it was reported that the Warriors were attempting to go all-in on acquiring James by way of trading for Davis first. Davis, who spent 5 \u00bd seasons as James\u2019 teammate on the Lakers, was traded to the Mavericks<\/a> and then to the Wizards<\/a>. According to recent reports, Washington has no interest in trading Davis this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rich Paul, who represents James and Davis, was under the impression that getting Davis to either Cleveland or Golden State would have been seamless. But with that no longer appearing to be the case, that leaves the Heat in an outstanding position.<\/p>\n

\u201cKlutch Sports Group, led by Rich Paul, thought it would be \u201csuper easy\u201d to get the Cavaliers or Warriors to trade for Davis,\u2019 sources said,\u201d the Dallas Hoops Journal reported. \u201cSince that\u2019s not the case, the Heat have emerged as the leader to sign James since Miami doesn\u2019t have to trade for Davis. The team already has Antetokounmpo and Adebayo and strong role players in Andrew Wiggins<\/a>, Davion Mitchell, Bobby Portis<\/a> and Tim Hardaway<\/a> Jr.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there was one potential roadblock standing in the Heat\u2019s way of signing James, it was the belief that the four-time MVP and Heat president Pat Riley were not on good terms. However, that concern appears to have been put to rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeat head coach Erik Spoelstra is very close with James and president Pat Riley and James are on good terms again,\u201d the Dallas Hoops Journal reported. \u201cRiley was upset that James left Miami for Cleveland in the summer of 2014, but that\u2019s water under the bridge now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heat Considered to Be in Strongest Position to Sign LeBron?<\/p>\n

ESPN NBA<\/a> insider Dave McMenamin reported last week that James has narrowed his list to Eastern Conference teams. That means the Heat, Cavs and Sixers stand above the rest in the LeBron-a-Thon.<\/p>\n

If James\u2019 return to Cleveland was contingent upon the franchise trading for Davis first, it is reasonable to think that the Cavs have lost some momentum in the sweepstakes despite representing James\u2019 hometown team.<\/p>\n

If a reunion is on James\u2019 mind, he can achieve that by coming to Miami, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 22-time All-Star spent four seasons with the Heat after leaving the Cavs the first time. In South Beach, James played arguably four of his best seasons and emerged as almost inarguably the best player in basketball.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tAdel Ahmad<\/a> Adel is a writer with over five years of experience covering the NBA. His work has appeared on various media platforms, both national and local. More about Adel Ahmad<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – MARCH 27: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3772],"tags":[7,306,305,193,3846,6],"class_list":["post-793274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-basketball","tag-cavaliers","tag-cleveland","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-clevelandcavaliers","tag-nba"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116965646553377691","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}