While neither player has confirmed it yet, both LeBron James and Paul George could opt out of their current deals at their respective teams and become the hottest free agents available this offseason.
LeBron and George
After losing the NBA Finals series for the second season in a row to the Golden State Warriors, LeBron could opt out of his current deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while George could opt out of his current deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder due to their poor performance in the playoffs which saw them eliminated in the first round by the Utah Jazz.
For almost a year now, both LeBron and George have been linked with a move to the Los Angeles Lakers as not only is it an attractive destination for both players, but the team also has enough cap space to acquire both players in free agency.
LA Bound?
The Cavaliers star is attracted to the Lakers because of the Los Angeles market would be good for his business goals, while the Thunder star is lured to the Lakers because Los Angeles is his hometown. George had an interest in returning to LA when he wanted to leave the Indiana Pacers last summer.
During a recent interview with a TMZ reporter at a Fortnite gaming convention, George avoided questions on which team he would be playing for next season.
However, when asked about potentially playing with LeBron on the same team, he was very positive about the possibility of the two working together.
He said: “I’m with LeBron every All-Star. Every one of my All-Stars I’ve been teamed with LeBron… I like playing with him. It was fun playing with LeBron at All-Star weekend.”
LeBron and George have until June 29 to let their respective teams know if they will be exercising his player option this offseason. For the King, it will mean he'll leave the Cavs for the second time in his career. For Paul, he'll be leaving Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.
If both James and George join the Lakers this summer, the team will be reinserted back into the playoff picture and become one of the biggest threats to the Warriors in the Western Conference.
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