The Miami Heat and the other teams vying for LeBron James in free agency this offseason aren’t the only entities waiting on James’ decision.
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The NBA’s schedule-makers and other unsigned free agents around the league are also hoping James soon picks his new team.
James, who spent the past eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, is seriously considering the Heat in free agency this summer. The Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors are reportedly the four teams James is seriously considering.
But James, 41, is still weighing his options in free agency three weeks after leaguewide negotiations were allowed to begin on June 30.
“We have to finish up the schedule and where LeBron plays affects the schedule,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin last week, via The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. “It will influence how we set the schedule — opening week, Christmas. So I need him to make a decision.”
While the NBA usually releases its schedule for the upcoming season in mid-August, the process of building the schedule appears to be on hold until James makes a free agent decision. That’s because whichever team James joins is expected to be prominently featured on the national television schedule.
But Warriors forward and James’ close friend Draymond Green believes Silver’s recent comments will work against the league.
“Adam saying that is not going to speed up LeBron’s decision at all,” Green said this week on “The Draymond Green Show.” “If I know Bron well, if anything, it may slow his decision down a little more because that’s just how Bron is.”
James’ agent and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul spoke with Silver in New York last week about his comments, and made clear James isn’t going to rush his free agent decision.
“I saw Adam in New York, and we discussed it,” Paul said during a Monday appearance on “Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul. “And like I said, it’s still his choice. So if he doesn’t really know, you can’t rush it. You can’t rush it. We’re not going to be rushed. It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to sit here and sound like this. I just said, we’re not going to be rushed. It is his choice to make. And when he makes a choice, he makes it.”
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Among the notable unsigned players still available in free agency are James Harden, Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Gabe Vincent, Bradley Beal, Nick Richards, Jalen Duren, Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan. Harden (Cavaliers) and Green (Warriors), in particular, are waiting on James to make his decision before they’re expected to re-sign with their respective teams to make sure their team has enough money available to offer James in case he chooses to sign there.
With 12 players currently signed to standard contracts for next season, the Heat has two to three standard roster spots left to fill. Miami has already made one big addition this summer in trading for two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I think it’s important for people to understand, we’re not making this about attention and a spectacle,” Paul said Monday on his show when asked why James is still undecided on his next team three weeks into free agency. “It’s not about a decision or anything like that. He has a choice to make. He has a business choice to make. We’re not going to sit here and allow someone else to decide when he makes that decision or that choice. It’s a business choice that he’s making.
“And I think as an athlete, why is it that an athlete has to rush his choice? Because from a business perspective, you are making the choice between jobs, high-level jobs. And you’ve earned the right, you’re a big-time executive that’s unbelievable, arguably the best resume in the history of your job. Who’s rushing you? Nobody.”
How does Paul feel about Heat president Pat Riley?
Paul said on the latest episode of his show that he has “profound respect” for Riley. Paul spent time with Riley at last season’s Lakers-Boston Celtics game in Los Angeles in February, when Riley was honored by the Lakers with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena.
“I have a profound respect for Pat Riley,” Paul said this week. “Not because of anything more than just the guy has been in the basketball ecosystem more than double my age. There’s so much wisdom that comes with Pat. We sat there at a game and talked to him. I couldn’t have cared less about the game that was being played. It was great.”
▪ According to ESPN’s Warriors reporter Anthony Slater, the Warriors remain “pessimistic” on their chances to land James. ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported that the Heat, Cavaliers and 76ers are the front-runners for James.
This story was originally published July 22, 2026 at 3:13 PM with the headline “As LeBron James weighs returning to the Heat, the NBA is in limbo.”
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