Category: Basketball

The Spurs added Tobias Harris. How much better do you think he makes them, and what role do you see him filling? 

Marilyn Dubinski: It’s hard to raise the ceiling that much on a Finals team that only lost due to their own mistakes, but that’s exactly what Harris can help do: bring a veteran presence with a solid game on both sides who won’t make many mistakes.  At this point, it’s tough to say if he or Julian Champagnie will start, and it may come down to a training camp battle or if it’s something as simple as where Champagnie’s outside shooting is more needed: with the starters or second unit.

Mark Barrington: I think he makes the team better by adding more veteran leadership and another scorer and tenacious defender. He could end up starting over Julian Champagnie, but I still think the trio of him, Vassell, and Julian all get about the same amount of minutes. Even though he’s likely a starter, the biggest impact will be on the team’s depth where they don’t have a huge fall-off in talent when one of the starters has to sit.

Bill Huan: Harris gives the Spurs another starting-calibre player, which would be the team’s seventh, assuming Harper comes off the bench again. For a squad that ran out of bodies in the finals (especially at the forward position), this is a vital addition that also provides a reliable veteran presence to a very young team. I do worry about a potential dropoff given that he’s almost exactly the same age as Barnes, and we all saw what happened to HB last year. Still, Harris gives the Spurs another reliable body, and playing on a loaded team will hopefully keep him fresh for the postseason. 

Devon Birdsong: Any time you can add an efficient shooter and scorer to a Finals team, it’s going to make them better. And Harris is far more efficient than some might have you believe. For instance, his Player Efficiency Rating was higher than Devin Vassell’s last season, and their True Shooting Percentages were identical. (In fact, some of his advanced defensive stats were also better) I see Harris as taking on Harrison Barnes’ role of the last two seasons, with Barnes now migrating to ‘break glass in case of emergency’ status, but I think there’s a real question of whether he or Champagnie will start. My guess is that Julian will, because the bench could use a little more scoring punch outside of Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper, but considering how much San Antonio’s matchup weakness at power forward popped up in the postseason, I have a sneaking suspicion that we’ll see them both get time with the starting unit throughout the season. They’ll need Harris to have a certain degree of familiarity with the starters come playoff time, and Julian has been both seamless and selfless in moving back and forth between the two. I’ve been assured by Spurs Twitter experts that that’s not something that NBA teams do during the regular season, though, so I guess all those years of Popovich experimenting with lineups was just a hallucination on my part. Ça alors! 

Jeje Gomez: I don’t think he raises their ceiling much, but he should help raise their floor. Harris has flaws, but he is a veteran who knows how to play, is durable, and can get a bucket when everything else fails. The Spurs needed guys that fit that mold last season, especially when Barnes started to struggle. As for his role, it would probably be best to bring him off the bench to prevent opponents from putting their center on Harris, like they used to do with Barnes. Harris is a decent shooter but not a knockdown guy, so that makes him an awkward fit for the starters. Still, there could be games where he’s the better option, and it wouldn’t be the worst idea to give him Julian Champagnie’s spot in those matchups.

The rookies that suited up had some good moments in Summer League. Do you expect any of them to contribute in 2026/27? 

Dubinski: Tarris Reed stands the best chance, especially since Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet were two of their more injury-prone players last season.  I don’t think the two-way players will play much, if any role (which has been the case the last couple of seasons now), and while Jayden Quiantance will hopefully be ready to start playing at some point this season, I wouldn’t expect him to truly have a role until next season.

Barrington: Tarris Reed will probably spend most of the first half of the season in Austin, but he could be a big part of the rotation after the All-Star break. Maliq Brown and Ja’Kobi Gillespie look more like projects to me, and we will have to see how well they do in Austin to see if they can contribute in San Antonio. If they do make it to the regular rotation, I don’t think it happens this season. 

Huan: Like everyone else said, I expect Reed to get some developmental run but I’d be floored if he saw any meaningful minutes in the postseason (barring injuries). I’m not sure if he’ll be ready to be the team’s third big by then, but he’ll surely be better than Plumlee and Biyombo, right…??? I think we should keep our expectations relatively low, but Reed’s development this season should still be a major storyline given that Kornet’s on a short-term deal and the Spurs will want to get younger and cheaper at the backup centre spot soon. 

Birdsong: Reed is definitely in line to find some minutes at some point, if for no other reason than a history of both Wemby and Luke Kornet missing time, but out of players who suited up for Summer League, Carter Bryant is the easy choice. The real question is what his minutes will end up looking like with Harris added to the forward rotation. Someone is going to have to take a step back, but the Spurs also have to figure out a way to continue to develop a player who contributed in the postseason. For me, this is the 2nd biggest roster question for the season after how the guard minutes will be allocated. 

Gomez: The Spurs will have trouble giving everyone minutes and touches even without considering the rookies, so I doubt any will get a regular role. Reed is likely going to be the one that gets the most playing time of the four, because he has an NBA-ready body and knows his strengths and weaknesses. I expect him to at least get a shot at minutes when one of Wembanyama or Kornet misses games, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Carter Bryant out there as a small-ball center while Reed sits. Regardless of their roles this year, the most important factor will be their development. San Antonio will need cheap role players when the roster gets more expensive, so if spending time in Austin is the best way to get the rookies ready for the future, that’s where they should be.

As the roster stands right now, who do you think will start and who do you think won’t be part of the rotation to start the season?

Dubinski: I think the rotation will be basically identical to last season, with Harris replacing Barnes in the top 10 rotation, and then it’s just a matter of whether he or Champagnie starts.  There may also be more minutes for Carter Bryant, perhaps at Keldon Johnson’s expense, which absolutely pains me to say, but at some point they’re going to have to determine if he’s a keeper past this season or if Bryant can make him expendable. (Just typing that about KJ crushes my soul!)

Barrington: As I mentioned above, I think that Tobias Harris starts over Julian, but that Champagnie will end up playing about the same number of minutes as the starters. Dylan Harper is definitely a starter-level talent, but I think he plays the Manu role again this year, coming off the bench while also getting a spot in the finishing lineups in big games. De’Aaron Fox had a bad playoff series against the Knicks, but the team is betting on a resurgence this year as he begins the season fully healthy for the first time in a few years, and he’s going to start. 

Carter Bryant will be a bigger part of the rotation as an undersized center when the Spurs are playing a smallball lineup. It will surprise no one that I think that Harrison Barnes will have a reduced role this season, and that Jordan McLaughlin will only play spot minutes when needed as an injury replacement or to finish out games where the score isn’t close. I think the acquisition of Tarris Reed allows the Spurs to experiment more with a French Vanilla lineup with both Kornet and Wemby out on the court at the same time, but that won’t happen until later in the season.

Huan: I agree with everything Marilyn said, although I’m not as big of a KJ stan as she is (please don’t come after me!!). The big question remaining is who starts between Champagnie and Harris, given that it sounds like Harper is “open” (or whatever the terminology was) to coming off the bench again. When the offseason first opened, I really thought that the end game would be starting all three guards, but if Harper is ok with being their 6th man for one more year, then the Spurs will need to take advantage. 

Birdsong: Barnes is almost definitely going to be out of the rotation by default, but I’m also curious to see how the minutes for Luke Kornet end up playing out with the addition of Harris. The Spurs probably want to find time for Bryant, so I wonder if Kornet’s minutes end up resembling something more like his allocation in the postseason (13 mins) rather than last year’s regular season (21 minutes) if Harris or Bryant need those extra eight minutes. The one thing about a team being this deep is the complications it creates in terms of playing time. PTR staff writer (and former college coach) Lee Dresie once wrote a piece on minutes allocation that I think about at least a dozen times each season, and I think figuring that balance out will be no small challenge for Mitch and Co. (though injuries may help them make some choices easier)

Gomez: I think Champagnie will continue to start unless the lineup that destroyed opponents last season regresses. That leaves some awkward fits off the bench, as Harris, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, and Harrison Barnes, who are all power forwards, would likely have to play in lineups together. I’m assuming Barnes doesn’t get minutes and Harper, Harris, Johnson, and Kornet are the top four bench guys in terms of playing time, with some Bryant sprinkled in. Now, if Bryant’s shot improves, I can easily see him leapfrogging Johnson in the depth chart, which would bring about some uncomfortable questions about KJ’s future. But we’ll worry about that when/if it happens.

Considering that Luka Dončić is a ball-dominant player who attracts a ton of attention and is an elite passer, being his teammate is an alluring proposition.

Add in that the Lakers locked up Austin Reaves for the future, and suddenly plenty of wing players and bigs can envision how they can thrive with this backcourt pairing feeding them the ball.

With so many players from last year’s team gone, Dončić and Reaves’ dimes will have to go somewhere and LA’s latest addition, Sandro Mamukelashvili, could be the beneficiary. In fact, it’s one of the many reasons he is excited about playing alongside Dončić and Reaves.

In an interview with Khobi Price of the California Post, Mamu outlined why he can’t wait to suit up in the purple and gold.

“They just see me as a basketball player who can go out there, play multiple positions, bring the rhythm,” Mamukelashvili told the Post. “They know I’m gonna play hard, I won’t take possessions off and they understand that I really want to win. That’s where I fit.

“Having players like Luka, Austin Reaves, all those guys who are such amazing creators that’s gonna help me so much offensively, just flow in it and hopefully get a lot of open corner 3s and then just knock them down.”

As a five-year player, Sandro Mamukelashvili has proven that he can produce and has yet to reach his ceiling.

Last year with the Raptors, he scored 11.2 points per game and shot 52.3% from the field. Both are career-best marks for the big. He even earned some votes for Most Improved Player in the NBA.

As a Raptor, Mamu was great at capitalizing on open looks from beyond the arc. Of his 295 3-point attempts, 244 were wide open, with the closest defender being at least six feet away. In fact, Mamu took only two 3-pointers when a defender was within four feet of him.

Now, he’s a Laker and wants to get even better.

If Mamu can stay committed to such a healthy shot diet, he could excel in Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s system. And that’s one of the reasons he’s excited for this new opportunity.

With Mamu ready to embrace his inner shooter and a willingness to play multiple positions, the Lakers could maximize his potential.

He could be the ideal big for LA, able to knock down open threes, but also score inside as a four or a five. If he’s able to do that, his time as a Laker will be a positive one and he could be part of this exciting young core for years to come.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

There's a logical explanation to why it's taking so long for LeBron James to announce his free agency decision on where he will play in the 2026-27 season.

A Cleveland sports radio host believes that James has intentionally pushed back his announcement because he was "irritated" with comments made last week by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Cleveland sports radio personality Andy Baskin said Silver's comments "irritated" James and the former Los Angeles Lakers star decided to push back the announcement.

Baskin, who has a radio show called Baskin and Phelps on 92.3 The Fan, went as far as to say that James was ready to announce his decision last week.

"LeBron's crew was probably ready to make an announcement, especially because they were in New York," Baskin said. "The world had their eyes on New York because of the World Cup as well. Yeah, and so that they were probably comfortable making an announcement as early as last week that they were there, and then people were like telling them what to do."

"There's a little bit of irritation," he added. "Irritated was the word that I was told, irritated by the commissioner pushing them. ...It may not just be LeBron, but it it it's more about LeBron's group together, so that the irritation got to the point they were like, 'Well, you know what? We'll decide when LeBron is going to tell everyone where he's going.' So they decided to hold back on making their next decision, their next move on where they want to play or where LeBron wants to play."

LeBron updates: Latest LeBron James free agency news, rumors, updates on 'Decision'

Last week, Silver said he wished James would come up with his decision to finalize the playing schedule. And he was serious.

Silver spoke at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit in New York City in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. He answered a heap of questions about the NBA and its state, but not before James' free agency carousel came into question.

Silver discussed different scenarios he'd like to see James finish his career with, but his overall point was for James to hurry up and make the announcement.

"I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule," Silver said. "But it will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc. So I need him to make a decision."

Those comments, according to Baskin, didn't sit right with James and his camp. Seemingly in response to Silver's comments, James' agent Rich Paul said in the following days that his client's decision will not be rushed.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Did Adam Silver's remarks delay LeBron James' free agency choice?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Golden State fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

It’s been just over two years since Klay Thompson shocked the basketball world and announced that he would be leaving the Golden State Warriors. It was, at the same time, extremely surprising and not surprising at all. Surprising because Thompson was a beloved franchise icon who had spent the first 13 years of his career on the Warriors, won four championships, and formed an unbreakable bond with fellow stars Draymond Green and Steph Curry. And it was unsurprising because it was clear that things had soured in the prior season, with reports of Thompson’s unhappiness swirling everywhere.

Things haven’t gone particularly well for Klay since then. He signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks with the intention of competing for a title with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, but the latter has played just 50 games over those two years, while the former was shockingly traded for Anthony Davis, who was salary dumped last year. On top of it all, Thompson put up career-lows in points per game, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage last year, all while having a public breakup with rapper Megan Thee Stallion … a breakup that did not make Klay look very good.

And so he enters the final year of his Mavs deal with the team likely looking to move him, as they have hit the reset button and decided to build around 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. And so it caught some people’s attention last week when, at Fanatics Fest, told a fan “It’d be nice to end it in Golden State.”

That’s highly unlikely to happen this year, as the Warriors can’t really trade for Thompson’s contract, and he probably won’t get bought out. But next year, when he’s a free agent who won’t have much of a market? Or later this year if he is available on the buyout market?

Bringing back legends is always a tricky thing. It always feels like both a great idea and an awful one. How would you feel?

Ty Lawson, a former Denver Nuggets player, was arrested.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by FOX31, Lawson allegedly stole a bottle of vodka from a store in Castle Rock, Colorado on July 16.

A shop owner called police about a man who entered the store and stole a bottle of Tito’s Vodka before leaving at approximately 8:03 p.m. She told police the man took a drink from the bottle before walking to a nearby restaurant, Scileppi’s, per the arrest affidavit.

The shop owner also revealed she witnessed Lawson stumbling and believed he was intoxicated. The man then sat at the bar with the stolen Tito’s bottle.

The man was later identified as Tywon Lawson. He faces a shoplifting charge since it was a theft less than $300.

Lawson’s friend, who was found holding the Tito’s bottle, was also detained but later released after officers determined he played no role in the shoplifting.

Lawson was booked into the Douglas County Jail.

Lawson was the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA Draft. The Minnesota Timberwolves selected the guard, but traded his rights to the Nuggets.

The 38-year-old played six seasons in Denver. Lawson was a candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award after the 2010-11 campaign, where he averaged 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in his sophomore season in the league.

The Nuggets guard was also included on the MVP ballot for the 2012-13 season. LeBron James won the award as a member of the Miami Heat that year.

Lawson played eight total seasons in the NBA, primarily in Denver. He also had stints with the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers.

While at one point a successful player, Lawson’s basketball career has been tainted by incidents off the hardwood. In 2020, Lawson was banned from the Chinese Basketball Association for making derogatory comments.

Lawson was arrested for two separate DUIs in 2015, one in Denver and another in Los Angeles.

Since LeBron James announced he wasn’t going to return to the Lakers in late June, there have been questions around the NBA whether his son, Bronny James, will follow him to his next team. 

While LeBron and Bronny could be teammates for the 2026-27 season on LeBron’s next team, it also isn’t guaranteed the Lakers will trade the younger James to his father’s next destination. 

As has been described to the California Post, there’s a real possibility the Lakers will keep Bronny on their roster going into next season, even as they continue to tinker with their roster to be compliant with the league’s roster rules before Opening Night in October. 

If the team signing LeBron is also looking to acquire Bronny, they would likely need to send the Lakers a real asset as part of a trade. 

Bronny is well-liked throughout multiple levels of the organization. 

The Athletic first reported that assumptions of Bronny and LeBron being linked moving forward being false. 

Since the Lakers drafted Bronny out of USC with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, making him and LeBron the first father-son duo in league history, the Lakers have developed the 6-foot-2 guard into a reliable shooter with defensive upside.

Bronny spent significant portions of his rookie and sophomore seasons with the Lakers’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers who have been rebranded as the Coachella Valley Lakers.

"It would take something REAL for the Lakers to want to trade Bronny… they developed him, they’re a fan of him, and he has A LOT of supporters in the building."@khobi_price joined #BrockandAlex to discuss everything #Lakers offseason & what to look forward to going into the… pic.twitter.com/3mpWW6UBjV

— 97.1 The Fan (@TheFanLA) July 21, 2026

He improved significantly during his second season, upping his field goal percentage (50.5% from 41.9%), 3-point percentage (37.6% from 33.6%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4:2.6 from 4.6:3.3).

Bronny played 42 regular season games for the Lakers in 2025-26, and was a full-time rotation player after Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves suffered their regular season-ending injuries. 

He averaged 5.6 points and shot 35.7% on 3s in the final 10 games of the regular season. 

Bronny also played in eight of the Lakers’ 10 playoff games, with the highlight being the 10 straight points he and LeBron scored during the second quarter of the Lakers’ Game 3 win in their first round series victory over the Rockets.

The Lakers guaranteed Bronny’s $2.3 million salary for 2026-27 when they kept him on the roster after June 29. 

He also has a $2.5 million team option for the 2027-28 season. His salary for 2027-28 doesn’t become fully guaranteed until Jan. 10, 2028.

If the Lakers keep Bronny on the roster going into the season, he’s expected to compete with newcomer Collin Sexton, rookie Cameron Carr and recently-acquired Jaden Hardy for reserve backcourt minutes.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NCAA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockets fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

We’re trying something different with the Reacts questions in an effort to get the responses up. We’re posting the question in The Feed and in a story. Not much should change for you, and we’ll hopefully get our voting numbers up as well.

This week’s question wants to know if you expect the Rockets to be better this year, worse, or mostly the same?

Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with results!

LeBron James was reportedly prepared to make his free agency announcement last week.

Then, NBA commissioner Adam Silver publicly revealed the 41-year-old’s delayed decision is the reason why the league’s schedule hasn’t been finalized. Silver’s comments seemingly played a role in the ongoing saga.

On 92.3 The Fan’s Baskin and Phelps show, Cleveland radio host Andy Baskin revealed what a source shared about James’ free agency decision.

“Here’s what I was told yesterday about the whole LeBron situation. Last week, LeBron’s crew was probably ready to make an announcement, especially because they were in New York,” Baskin said. “The world had their eyes on New York because of the World Cup as well.

“They were probably comfortable making an announcement as early as last week. And then, people were telling them what to do. There’s a little bit of irritation… Irritated was the word I was told, by the commissioner pushing them…so they decided to hold back.”

"Here's what I was told yesterday by a reliable source. Last week, LeBron's crew was probably ready to make an announcement. 'Irritated' was the word I was told, by the commissioner pushing them…so they decided to hold back."

Andy Baskin on the latest with what he was told… pic.twitter.com/xEC5rcIVhr

— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) July 22, 2026

The NBA offseason has been headlined by James, after he informed the Los Angeles Lakers he wouldn’t return for the upcoming season.

The 41-year-old quickly became the top free agent of the summer, and while he informed the Lakers of his departure in June, nobody truly knows where James will land.

That has not stopped continuous speculation about LeBron this summer, but only his camp appears to know the answer to the league’s biggest question heading into the 2026-27 season.

The supposed final four suitors for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer appear to be the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors.

The Spurs are keeping around a familiar face. David Jones Garcia has re-signed with the franchise on a new two-way deal, the team announced.

Jones Garcia earned a spot on the roster on a two-way contract last offseason thanks to his fantastic showing in the California Classic and Summer League. The Dominican scorer had already proved his skills in the G League before signing with San Antonio but looked ready to take his game to the next level, showing intensity on defense and the ability to create for others in a pinch on a terrific run both in San Francisco and Las Vegas.

In his one year with the Spurs, he only suited up for 11 games with the big team but averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the G League with the Austin affiliate between the tip-off tournament and the regular season. Unfortunately, his season was cut short by a major ankle injury that required surgery. Now the 24-year-old guard will have another opportunity to try to make it to the NBA.

The Spurs have a lot of guard depth on their roster, so it won’t be easy for DJG to get minutes with the big club, but having someone who can create as well as he does is fantastic injury insurance. The 6’4” scorer can also play on the wing in a pinch thanks to his rebounding ability. He’ll likely spend most of his time in Austin, where the front office will surely monitor his progression.

The Spurs had all three two-way spots filled, as last year’s holdover Emanuel Miller was joined in the platoon by 2026 second-round draft selections Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Maliq Brown. There have been no official reports as to who has been waived to make room for Jones Garcia, but Miller seems the most likely candidate. San Antonio still has an open spot for a standard deal.

Miami Heat mistakenly posted a link on YouTube to LeBron James' 'introductory press conference' despite the NBA great not yet deciding where he will play next season.

The link to the live stream - scheduled for 27 July - was uploaded to the Heat's channel on Tuesday before being deleted.

A Heat spokesperson told Reuters the video was posted in error by staff who were preparing for the possibility of James joining the side.

BBC Sport has contacted Miami Heat for comment.

James, 41, announced he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers in June after eight years, in which he led them to the 2020 NBA title - his fourth overall.

He previously played for Miami between 2010 and 2014.

James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds last season with the Lakers.

The 22-time All-Star is the NBA's all-time leader in games (1,622) and points (43,440).

A return to Florida for James would form a formidable starting five for the Heat alongside fellow new signing and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and centre Bam Adebayo.

Given the Heat traded key members of their squad away to land Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, a player of James' calibre would add further scoring power and experience with the Miami team focused on a quick rebuild towards a title push.

But earlier this week, James' agent Rich Paul said he is "not going to be rushed" into making a decision.

"It's his choice to make and when he makes the choice, he'll make it," Paul said on the Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul podcast.

• LeBron's Last Dance - what next for James after Lakers exit?

Kendrick Perkins doesn’t believe it was a meaningless mistake.

ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said on “First Take” that the Miami Heat uploading a video on Tuesday night titled “LeBron James Introductory press conference” was no accident.

“Those things don’t just happen under Pat Riley’s watch,” Perkins said. “… This means that Miami is really in the hunt. They’re in the thick of this. LeBron James could possibly end up back in South Beach.”

Perkins went on to say that this was the “first real big clue” of the offseason from an organization that James has interest in.

On Wednesday morning, the Miami Herald reported that the deleted video, scheduled to air on Monday, July 27th, was accidentally uploaded by the Heat’s social media department as they were preparing for the possibility of James rejoining the team.

From 2010-2014, James was the face of the Miami franchise and led them to two NBA championships, where he was crowned Finals MVP and League MVP in 2012 and 2013.

After an NBA Finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, James departed from the team and signed with his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley admitted that he was disappointed with James’ decision to leave, as he believed the team was on the verge of becoming a dynasty. Riley said he still enjoys seeing James around, which has sparked rumors of him rejoining the team.

The Miami Heat’s official YouTube channel had LeBron’s introductory press conference scheduled for July 27

(h/t @WadexFlash / https://t.co/ngYXKtG4ps) pic.twitter.com/OCNZMkiiVO

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 22, 2026

It’s been three weeks since James informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he would not be returning next season, and the pressure of choosing his next team has been starting to build up.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has urged James to make his decision soon so that the league can finish making next season’s schedule.

On Monday night, James’ agent and long-time friend Rich Paul said that James will be taking his time to make a decision, as the four-time MVP still doesn’t know where he wants to go.

LeBron James is 41 years old, will be 42 by the end of the 2026-27 NBA season, and yet his free agency still has NBA fans everywhere on the edge of their seats. Rumors have swirled, podcasts have had whole episodes dedicated to trying to figure out where The King will opt to play next season.

On Tuesday night, if even for a moment, fans believed he'd made a decision. Fans discovered that the Miami Heat had scheduled a video to be published on YouTube titled "LeBron James Introductory Press Conference." Everyone around social media was flabbergasted at how sudden James' decision seemingly was. Turns out, it was an accident.

The Miami Heat accidentally posted, then deleted, a scheduled YouTube livestream titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” for July 27.

A team spokesperson told @ShamsCharania the link was mistakenly published while preparing for a possible James signing.…

— ESPN (@espn) July 22, 2026

According to a spokesperson from the Heat, the video was accidentally posted while the social media team was preparing for a possible James signing.

Of course, the Heat are still in the running for James, but they haven't signed him just yet. Clearly though, people in the building must feel at least somewhat confident that a deal could be reached soon, right? Why prep anything if you didn't feel it was possible?

But are the Heat even the favorites to land James? After James spent four years in South Beach, winning two championships along the way, would he really opt to return after the team just traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Here are the latest odds on which teams have the best shot at signing LeBron James. All odds via BetMGM.

Which teams have the best odds of signing LeBron James?

According to BetMGM, the Golden State Warriors have the best odds of signing James, currently sitting at -250, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in second-place at +300.

The Miami Heat are third at +800, and the Spurs round out the top-four at +1600.

Have other teams been linked to James?

Other teams like the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers have all been linked to James this offseason.

However, as time has progressed, those teams have seemingly fallen away from their pursuit of James. There is still obviously a chance that one of these teams winds up with James as well, but they all seem like longshots at this point.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Are the Heat odds-on favorites for LeBron James after YouTube debacle?

The Winnipeg Jets keep the heat up on Miami’s Lebron James slip up.

With Lebron free agency rumors still circling, the Heat accidentally uploaded a page titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” to their YouTube.

The post was scheduled for July 27 and was quickly taken down, but NBA fans pounced on the blunder and it was soon viral.

The Heat have since said the upload was a mistake, and they were only preparing for a potential reunion with James, but it nonetheless changed the odds of his landing spot.

The Jets responded to the debacle with an X post that read “The Winnipeg Jets’s official YouTube channel has LeBron’s introductory press conference scheduled for July 27.”

The caption was accompanied with a link to a real scheduled live stream from the Jets main YouTube account titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference.”

The thumbnail included a photoshop of James in a Jets jersey as well as an all caps note in the middle of the screen that read “DON’T UPLOAD THIS YET!”

The Jets also tagged NBACentel, an infamous NBA news parody account known for jokingly breaking fake news.

The Winnipeg Jets’s official YouTube channel has LeBron’s introductory press conference scheduled for July 27

(h/t @TheNBACentel / https://t.co/OuWxM9vcKs) pic.twitter.com/W7cs3hJsSX

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 22, 2026

The post is on par with the Jets social media which is known for being unserious. Recently they have made posts about a spineless raccoon, the New York Jets new uniforms, and meatballs.

As for if James will join the heat, that is still to be seen.

However, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins said on “Get Up” that the Heat’s YouTube leak is “something.”

“This wasn’t leaked by accident, those things don’t happen under Pat Riley’s watch,” Perkins said. “This means that Miami is really in the hunt. LeBron could possibly end up back in South Beach.

“All of us across the world have become investigators. But this is the first real big clue that we’ve been able to see from an organization that LeBron James has interest in.”

NFL reporter Adam Schefter also said on Monday he thinks there is a real chance James ends up back in South Beach.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” he said on an appearance on Philadelphia sports radio station, 97.5 The Fanatic, citing a text with a Miami source.

One year after selecting Cooper Flagg with the number one overall pick, the Dallas Mavericks are still trying to find a forward that will fit alongside him.

Having a strong pair on the wing is important for roster construction in today’s NBA. The Mavs will need to toy with all of the new pieces that have been brought to the puzzle.

“The three most notable additions here all fall into that big wing category: Morez Johnson with the No. 9 overall pick, Santi Aldama in a trade with Memphis and Zaccharie Risacher in a trade with Atlanta. Is the fit here optimal? Probably not. Cooper Flagg should probably be a long-term power forward. That’s the easiest way to surround him with shooting and maximize his defensive strengths, but on this roster, he’s probably exclusively a small forward,“ CBS Sports contributor Sam Quinn wrote. 

“But he’s 19. The Mavericks have time to figure out what does and doesn’t work beside him, so taking swings at forward is a reasonable starting point.”

The Mavs know their timeline towards contention is still a few years away. Taking flyers on as many players as possible is an ideal path for the team to take at this time.

The team needs to find as many low-risk, high-reward moves that will put them in position to get closer to building the right squad around Flagg for years to come. This could mean moving on from Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving in trades later this offseason or by the February trade deadline, but we’ll see what Masai Ujiri has up his sleeve.

Mavs Moneyball community, how do you feel about the team’s offseason decisions? Let us know in the comments section below.