The LeBron James era with the Lakers in Los Angeles is over. What’s next is up in the air.
James and his agent Rich Paul informed the Lakers that he would seek to find a new team via free agency, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday.
The rumor mill was already running wild with potential landing spots for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer before the news, and one team is surging at prediction markets.
Users at Kalshi and Polymarket have the Golden State Warriors as the frontrunner to sign James in free agency. On both platforms, James’ odds to go to the Warriors jumped from 34 percent to 67 percent.
Charania had previously reported that the Warriors were suitors for James’ services after Draymond Green declined his $27 million player option for next season to allow the team flexibility to make a play for the 41-year-old in free agency.
It has also been reported that the Warriors would seek to trade for Anthony Davis to team up with James and Stephen Curry in Golden State.
The second team getting buzz is the Cavaliers. At Kalshi, the Cavaliers moved from an 11 percent chance to sign James to 22 percent after the latest news. The movement was more modest at Polymarket, going from eight percent to 18 percent.
NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that the Cavaliers are interested in having James finish his career with the team that drafted him and where he helped the franchise win its first NBA championship in 2016.
James Harden recently declined his $42 million player option, and the two teams are working on a deal for him to return, but the Cavaliers have limited space to fit both players without exceeding the second apron.
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Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.