LeBron James' choice reveals how he views Cavs as contenders. Opinion
LeBron James' choice reveals how he views Cavs as contenders. Opinion
Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon JournalTue, July 28, 2026 at 10:06 AM UTC
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The LeBron James sweepstakes unfolding while Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" debuted in movie theaters is amusing and worthy of a chuckle.
It took James 25 days to choose the Philadelphia 76ers as his landing spot in NBA free agency, yet, with the fast and furious release of podcasts and the madness of social media, those three-plus weeks felt closer to the 20 years Odysseus spent fighting in the Trojan War and making his way back to Ithaca.
One key difference between James and Odysseus, though, is the heroic graybeard who hails from Akron is not returning home.
So, why did the 41-year-old James decline a third tour with his hometown Cavaliers?
LeBron James signs with the Philadelphia 76ers to pursue fifth NBA title
The 76ers, Cavs, Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors were the finalists in the James derby, agent Rich Paul confirmed July 24 on the "Game Over" podcast he co-hosts with Max Kellerman.
Shortly after Paul had informed the Los Angeles Lakers on June 30 of James' plan to leave LA and sign elsewhere, Paul said on his podcast "happiness" would be the NBA all-time leading scorer's priority in free agency, not money.
When James announced on July 24 he would join the Sixers, he explained in a series of tweets an opportunity to win his fifth championship drove his decision. In other words, the allure of a title largely defined the "happiness" he sought.
"This is my last decision," James tweeted. "I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point?
"I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.
"I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time."
Paul explained the Sixers were not the wire-to-wire leaders for James' services.
"I think that every one (of the top suitors) was at some point leading the race," Paul said.
James didn't finalize his decision to join the 76ers until roughly "1 in the morning" on July 24, Paul said. Counting June 30 and July 24, James' odyssey to Philly took 25 days.
James signed a two-year, $8 million contract on Sunday, July 26, ESPN first reported, and the 76ers announced the completion of the deal on Monday, July 27. The contract is a massive bargain for the Sixers. It includes a player option for the 2027-28 season and a 15% trade kicker.
LeBron James news: Former Cavs GM Mike Gansey and 76ers win sweepstakes for NBA's all-time leading scorer
Would LeBron James have picked the Cavs if they still had Darius Garland?
With James' selection and explanation, he essentially told the world he has more confidence in the 76ers as a title contender than the Cavs, Heat or Warriors.
On the "Game Over" podcast, Paul said the presence of point guard Tyrese Maxey on the Sixers was a factor as well. Like James, Maxey is a prized client of Klutch Sports Group.
"When you add LeBron, everything changes, and I really mean this," Paul, the founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group, said on July 24. "That's why it's not easy for someone who is [deemed] to be a star player on the team. When he comes, he kind of shows you how big or little of a star you actually are.
"It takes a special kind of person mentally to embrace that, and I think that the familiarity with him and Tyrese, you don't have to worry about that with Tyrese because they know each other, they embrace each other, they've been working out together for the last five years, so you won't have any pushback. You can't pay for that. You can't put a value on that."
Former Cavaliers point guard Darius Garland is another Klutch Sports Group client, and Paul said on a July 3 episode of the "Game Over" podcast he considered Garland no longer being in Cleveland a knock against the Cavs in their pursuit of James. The Cavs traded Garland in February to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for point guard James Harden.
"The negative is, and this is no offense to Harden, no Garland because [James] loves Garland like he loves Maxey," Paul said on his famous whiteboard episode of the "Game Over" podcast.
The trouble with selling (or buying) Garland's absence from the Cavs as a true deal-breaker for James is what the 2003 St. Vincent-St. Mary High School graduate said in February about the Garland-Harden trade on the "Mind the Game" podcast his co-hosts with Steve Nash.
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"They're going for it," James said of the Cavs on Feb. 17 the episode of his podcast. "They felt like they needed another playmaker, someone that's been there, kind of been in this situation before, and they added James [Harden], perennial All-Star who's still putting up All-Star numbers. [Harden] gives Donovan Mitchell another, like, ball handler guy who can make shots late in the game.
"Those pickups that they got from [the Sacramento Kings] as well, you know, [backup point guard Dennis] Schroder, a former teammate of mine, you know that's going to compete every single night, and Keon Ellis, the guy's going to compete, make shots. Like, those guys are going to be, I think, really, really good for that team, especially in the East, where it's a lot of bulk. You've got to have some dogs in there, so I think they added a lot."
LeBron James news: Cavaliers roster and depth chart breakdown after the kid from Akron picks 76ers
Then there's also the time Paul said on a Feb. 4 episode of the "Game Over" podcast he told Garland the 2025-26 season would be his last with the Cavs.
"Prior to this year, this upcoming season, I sat Darius down, and I explained to him, I was like, 'This is going to be your last year on the Cavs,' very matter-of-factly because I do things very black and white," Paul said. "I said, 'That's just the way it's going to be,' for a number of reasons that take too long to get into, but that's just my foresight.
"I also had the conversation with Koby Altman, who runs the Cavs [as their president of basketball operations]. I said, 'Koby, listen. This is what it's going to be. I understand it.' The hope is they go out and they play a great year and they try to contend, and then anything short of a championship run, you know there has to be a change."
When co-host Kellerman asked Paul whether a change needed to be made because there was "redundancy" on Cleveland's roster, a reference to Donovan Mitchell and Garland sharing the ball in the backcourt, Paul said, "Yeah."
Paul also said this about the Garland-Harden trade: "The great thing is, it's good for both. It's good for both players."
This is one of the reasons Paul is a brilliant agent: Even though Paul is on the record stating the Cavs needed to deviate from the Mitchell-Garland pairing and Garland going to the Clippers would be good for Garland, Paul more recently used the courtship of James as a vehicle to publicly pump up Garland. Remember, an agent's job is to help his clients boost their value and maximize their earnings. And Paul is one of the best agents in all of sports.
Did Cavs' refusal to trade Evan Mobley cost them LeBron James?
Garland is an extremely talented offensive player who has been plagued by injuries, including one leading to surgery on his left big toe during his final offseason as a member of the Cavs. The Cavs aged their starting point guard spot 10 years by swapping Garland, 26, for Harden, 36, so there is obvious risk in the deal.
By the same token, the Cavs did it mainly because Harden offered them an upgrade in durability and financial flexibility. With Harden, the Cavs reached the Eastern Conference Finals this past spring before the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks swept them 4-0.
Mitchell has been the Cavs' best player since the team traded for him in September 2022. Shipping Mitchell to another team instead of Garland because of their "redundancy" would have been dismissed as illogical by anyone who's not affiliated with Klutch Sports Group.
The better question is whether the Cavs should have traded forward Evan Mobley this offseason for either Giannis Antetokounmpo or Jaylen Brown. Speaking of "redundancy," the combination of Mobley and center Jarrett Allen remains under the microscope.
In the meantime ...
On June 22, the Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade 2021 NBA champion and two-time league MVP Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to the Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, the No. 13 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft (Nate Ament), additional first-round choices in 2031 and 2033, a pick swap in 2030 and a second-round selection in 2033
On July 1, the Boston Celtics agreed to trade 2024 NBA champion and Finals MVP Brown to the Sixers for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round selections (2028 and 2030)
One could argue the Heat traded for Antetokounmpo and still failed to secure James, so the same scenario could have unfolded for the Cavs if they had dealt for Antetokounmpo. However, James wasn't studying just one player on the rosters of the 76ers, Cavs, Heat and Warriors. He was looking at the collection of talent, how he would fit and to which degree an organization could pivot, if necessary, from now until the February 2027 trade deadline.
If the Cavs were willing to move Mobley (the Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Star and an All-NBA Second Team pick two seasons ago) this summer, they could have made a splash for Antetokounmpo or Brown and likely boosted their appeal to James.
Paul conceded the Sixers acquiring Brown from the Celtics positioned Philly to "be really, really considered" by James.
On the other hand, the Cavs stood pat. In the end, James viewed a 76ers roster featuring Maxey, Brown, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid as his best path to another ring.
After regressing this past regular season but bouncing back in the 2026 playoffs, Mobley will need to significantly improve to make a convincing case the Cavs were wise to keep him this offseason.
Right now, with James uniting with Brown and Co. in Philadelphia, it's difficult to see the wisdom.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: LeBron James' choice reveals how he views Cavs as contenders. Opinion
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