LeBron James Rumors: Cavaliers Star May Have 'Narrowed' Choice To 2 Teams

The fact that LeBron James is not holding meetings with potential teams might just mean he has narrowed his choice down to two teams — the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers star has until Friday to exercise the player option in his current deal otherwise he becomes an unrestricted free agent free to join any team of his liking, though he could also re-sign with Cleveland.

However, it is expected by many that he will leave the Quicken Loans Arena for a team capable of challenging the Golden State Warriors, especially after they swept the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals earlier this month.

The Lakers are the big favorites as of now while the likes of the Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics have also reportedly shown an interest. But unlike "The Decision" when he held meetings with six teams before leaving Cleveland for the Miami Heat back in 2010, James will reportedly not be holding any meetings this time.

And for ESPN's "First Take" co-host Max Kellerman, that says a lot about where he could end up in the summer.

"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. "Now if he's telling teams not to pitch him, let's think about this — you would need to be pitched by Philly because you would have to know, 'Wait a minute, how are you going to maneuver this so that there's cap room here to get me in while you maintain shooters around us, how does this work with Ben Simmons and me?' You can have those informal discussions, backchannel, but you would like to know about that."

"If it's Houston, same thing — 'Okay Daryl Morey, you're a great GM but explain not only how you intend to theoretically get this done but let's see you get it done.' You've still got CP3, James Harden, maybe Clint Capela. It'll be very difficult to get all that in under the cap. Miami, they don't have enough. Boston, come on, not only is that a bad look but it involves stuff out of LeBron's control. San Antonio, there's too much uncertainty," Kellerman added.

"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?"

Kellerman's thinking makes sense as having been with the Cavaliers for so long, James does not really need to be pitched by them.

As for the Lakers, it's more straight forward — they are everyone's favorites to sign him, they have cap room to offer both him and soon-to-be free agent Paul George max deals, they could also sign Kawhi Leonard, and James has a home in Los Angeles.

The 33-year-old said before the playoffs that the two things to influence his decision were his family and where he could achieve the most success. Alongside Leonard and George in a new super team at Los Angeles, the Lakers definitely fit the bill.

One player who will need pitches is George, as while it was initially believed he would join the Lakers as a free agent next month, there are reports that he is strongly considering staying on with the Oklahoma City Thunder with a new deal. In addition, a Lakers recruiting pitch for him was recently leaked.

Whatever happens in the next month though, when it comes to trades and free agent signings, it could shape the long-term future of the NBA. Teams will be free to officially meet with free agents on July 1.