LeBron James Rumors: Cavaliers Star Already Knows Where He's Going

Cleveland Cavaliers star and soon-to-be free agent LeBron James already knows where he will be playing next season.

The 33-year-old's future was a leading topic of discussion during the past season but it has now gone into overdrive following the NBA Finals earlier this month when the Golden State Warriors sweeped the Cavaliers.

With his contract expiring after the 2018/19 season, James has a player option that he can exercise to stay on with the Cavs this year. However, all signs seem to be pointing at him entering unrestricted free agency as he has until Friday to exercise that player option.

The latest, according to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson as quoted on CavaliersNation, is that James' decision is linked with his reported "Space Jam 2" release — the sequel to Michael Jordan's original film over two decades ago.

He is considering announcing his next team on Instagram TV as well as his "Uninterrupted" platform but his free agency decision will also be a part of the trailer for the "Space Jam 2" movie. Landon Buford of The Hype Magazine adds that the connection is due to his next team possibly playing a part in the trailer.

"I was also told that LeBron James had to let some of his sponsors know where he would be going," he wrote. "The reasoning behind it is that the contents of this said trailer will state where the King is actually going."

Recent reports seem to indicate his next team is the Los Angeles Lakers, the overwhelming favorites to sign the Akron native.

They not only have the cap space to sign him to a max contract but they could also sign another soon-to-be free agent Paul George to a max contract as well.

The Los Angeles franchise also have the assets to trade for disgruntled San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, who has one year remaining on his deal, and in the process, form a new super team.

James is reportedly already speaking to players he wants to play with next season, seemingly George and Leonard, while recent reports state he is not considering meetings with teams who could pitch him.

This narrows his choice down to two teams according to ESPN's "First Take" co-host Max Kellerman.

"This tells me a lot actually. If he's telling teams not to pitch him, that tells me he's narrowed his choice to two destinations," Kellerman said. "... If you're LeBron, you need those places to pitch you but the fact that he doesn't tells me it's either Cleveland or the Lakers, that's what it comes down to, why does he need them to pitch him?"

The Lakers will be able to officially speak with James on July 1, assuming he does not exercise his player option.

A departure from Cleveland would mark the second exit from his hometown side in his career, though he did deliver on his promise of giving the city their first-ever championship when they famously came back from 3-1 down to defeat the Warriors 4-3 in the 2016 NBA Finals.