In case you hadn\u2019t heard, LeBron James is set to become an unrestricted free agent in less than a month.<\/p>\n
While the Lakers have repeatedly said<\/a> that they\u2019d welcome him back with open arms, there\u2019s no guarantee that he\u2019s in LA next year. Or on the Lakers, at least.<\/p>\n If this turns out to be LeBron\u2019s final year in the NBA, he might want to conduct his farewell tour elsewhere. It depends on how serious he is about contending for a championship next year. (There\u2019s a clear choice for him<\/a> if that\u2019s his top priority.)<\/p>\n Money will also be a major determining factor. Only a handful of teams can offer him anywhere close to a max contract, and teams over the first apron can\u2019t acquire players via sign-and-trade. That will limit his realistic free-agent options outside L.A.<\/p>\n With that in mind, let\u2019s break down how he could widen his potential landing spots at each step down the salary ladder, using spending-power projections<\/a> from Spotrac\u2019s Keith Smith as our guide.<\/p>\n Options: Lakers, Bulls, Nets<\/p>\n As of now, only three teams are projected to have anywhere near enough cap space to offer LeBron a max contract in free agency: the Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n LeBron could earn up to $57.75 million in 2026-27 if the salary cap lands at $165 million<\/a>, although he isn\u2019t likely to find any team willing to shell out that kind of money for him, not even the Lakers.<\/p>\n The Bulls and Nets are in the early stages of a rebuild, so they likely wouldn\u2019t hold much appeal to a 41-year-old James who\u2019s firmly in win-now territory. If James isn\u2019t willing to take a massive pay cut from the $52.6 million that he earned this past season, re-signing with the Lakers would be his best bet\u2026 provided that they\u2019re open to paying him that much.<\/p>\n Both the Pistons and Hawks can operate as cap-space teams this offseason, although neither is necessarily likely to.<\/p>\n The Pistons could have nearly $27 million in cap space, but that would require renouncing their free-agent rights to Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Kevin Huerter, among others. Unless Duren\u2019s miserable playoff run scares them off from re-signing him (unlikely<\/a>), they figure to operate as an over-the-cap team, per Hunter Patterson<\/a> of The Athletic.<\/p>\n The Hawks are in a similar boat. They could operate as a cap-space team, but that would mean declining their $24.3 million team option on Jonathan Kuminga and renouncing their rights to both him and CJ McCollum. Instead, they likewise figure to operate as an over-the-cap team, which would likely limit them to the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception.<\/p>\n Options: Hornets, Mavericks, Clippers, Grizzlies, Bucks, Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Spurs, Jazz, Wizards<\/p>\n Most of these teams are in some stage of rebuilding, although the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards are both poised to take a major leap forward. The Jazz acquired Jaren Jackson Jr. at the trade deadline and landed the No. 2 overall pick in this year\u2019s draft, while the Wizards traded for both Trae Young and Anthony Davis ahead of the deadline and landed the No. 1 overall pick.<\/p>\n Would LeBron want to team back up with Davis and mentor AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer in the nation\u2019s capital? Might he think the Jazz have the antidote to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs with their trio of 7-footers in JJJ, Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler (provided they re-sign him in restricted free agency)?<\/p>\n But why try to beat Wemby when he could simply join him instead?<\/p>\n The Spurs still have Wemby, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper on rookie-scale contracts next year, which gives them far more flexibility than a typical Finals team boasts. The Thunder are still lurking as a real threat to them \u2014 James heading to San Antonio wouldn\u2019t quite be on the same level as Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors in 2016 \u2014 but the Spurs would be clear championship favorites nonetheless.<\/p>\n Options: Lakers, Bulls, Nets, Hawks (?), Pistons (?)<\/p>\n Any team that operates under the cap this offseason will also have the $9.4 million room mid-level exception at its disposal. The Lakers, Bulls and Nets are all but guaranteed to have it, while the Hawks and Pistons could either have the room MLE or one of the other MLEs depending on what else they do in free agency.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to imagine LeBron would be willing to settle for a $9.4 million salary, though, especially if these teams also have cap space to spend on him. The non-taxpayer MLE is likely his floor unless he\u2019s looking to maximize his championship chances by taking a fraction of his actual on-court worth.<\/p>\n Options: Celtics, Heat, 76ers, Suns, Raptors, Warriors, Rockets, Timberwolves, Pacers, Kings<\/p>\n Some of these teams might have access to the full non-taxpayer MLE depending on what else they do this offseason, although using it would hard-cap them at the $209 million first apron. Spending the smaller $6.1 million taxpayer MLE would hard-cap them at the second apron.<\/p>\n If LeBron truly doesn\u2019t care about money \u2014 after all, the man is a billionaire<\/a> \u2014 being willing to take the taxpayer MLE would expand his free-agent options.<\/p>\n Might he want to join Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White in Boston? Could he form a Klutch Sports superteam in Philly with Tyrese Maxey? Would he want a Team USA reunion with Anthony Edwards in Minnesota or Kevin Durant in Houston? Or would he consider joining Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green in Golden State?<\/p>\n But if he\u2019s willing to settle for $6.1 million\u2026<\/p>\n