LeBron James is going to Hollywood.The NBA's premier free agent is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time in his career - this time to play for the Los Angeles Lakers
James will join the Lakers on a four-year contract worth a total of $154million, according to a press release by Klutch Sports Group
On social media, James, the Akron native, bid farewell to his hometown Cavaliers - the team that drafted him No
1 overall in 2003.'Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons,' James said in a message on his Instagram account
'This will always be home.' The Lakers were considered one of the favorites to land James this offseason
The team, which has enough salary-cap space to sign him and another star player, is still said to be in pursuit of Kawhi Leonard
Leonard, the Spurs star, has asked San Antonio to trade him, preferably to the Lakers
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Sometimes heroes do wear capes: Heroic golden retriever. Share this article Share However, it is unclear if the Lakers have enough assets to entice the Spurs
Another team that made a pitch to James, the Philadelphia 76ers, got their chance on Sunday to appeal to James to relocate to southeast Pennsylvania
Representatives from the team met Sunday with James' agent Rich Paul in Los Angeles, a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks
James, who returned to Los Angeles from vacation Saturday before NBA free agency opened, did not take part in the meeting, the person said
The Sixers offered James a chance to play alongside budding, young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as well as stay in the Eastern Conference, where the path to the NBA Finals is far easier than out West
Philadelphia hasn't hid its desire to land James, a three-time champion who would instantly make the club a championship contender
Earlier this season, James was flattered when a Pennsylvania company paid for three billboards in Ohio urging James to come to Philadelphia, where the club has been abiding by a 'Trust The Process' mantra while rebuilding
The 76ers' contingent was to be led by their ownership group headed by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, a person with knowledge of the details told AP
The 76ers recently parted ways with general manager Bryan Colangelo and their basketball operations are currently being overseen by coach Brett Brown
Paul also represents Simmons and James has been complimentary of the Rookie of the Year
Earlier Sunday, James had contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were hoping to hang onto the best player in franchise history
Shortly after the 12:01 EDTam start to free agency, Cavs general manager Koby Altman spoke on the phone to both James and Paul, the person said
While there was a feverish flurry of activity involving big-named players in the opening hour of what has been billed as the Summer of LeBron, James did not announce where he'll play next season and it's not known if other moves, such as Paul George staying in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul staying in Houston, have affected his thinking
The meeting with the 76ers was first reported by ESPN.James wasn't expected to drag his choice out over several days
He knows what he wants and he's very familiar with the Cavaliers after leading them to four straight NBA Finals since returning as a free agent in 2014 following four seasons in Miami
Because they own his 'Bird rights' the Cavs can offer James more money than any other team - a five-year, $207 million deal
But the 33-year-old has interests beyond basketball and the massive Los Angeles market would give him a bigger stage and platform
The Lakers have a young, talented but inexperienced roster and they were hoping to land both James and possibly George
But the All-Star forward opted to stick with the Thunder and will sign a four-year deal when teams are permitted to finalize contracts on June 6
It was previously thought that George's choice could sway James to sign a short-term deal with Cleveland, but the Lakers were determined to get their hands on the four-time MVP
The Cavs, on the other hand, have been mostly operating in the dark. While there had been dialogue between Paul and Altman since the season ended, James had not given the team any sense of his plans
That's made it tough for Cleveland to upgrade its roster, but the Cavs remain committed to bringing back James even for just one more year
On Friday, James formally became a free agent when he informed the Cavs he would not exercise his $35
6 million contract option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent and the prize catch in the 2018 class
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