\u2018Multiple groups\u2019 competing to bring Supersonics back as NBA expansion race heats up<\/a><\/p>\nLeBron James is expected to make his decision in the coming days. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Supplied<\/p>\n
The future Hall of Famer recently addressed critics who have questioned his ability to move the needle at this stage of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be pretty fun wherever I land \u2026 I seen something on social media that wherever I go we\u2019d be in the play in or some sh*t like that and I\u2019m not a factor anymore,\u201d James said during Fanatics Fest in New York while speaking with Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just a little motivation \u2026 I\u2019ve heard Warriors, I\u2019ve heard Philly, Miami.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the basketball world continues to speculate, ESPN insider Shams Charania believes James is now nearing a decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis process is getting closer and closer to the end here. LeBron James has all the information that he needs to make his decision,\u201d Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show.<\/p>\n
MILWAUKEE BUCKS UNDER INVESTIGATION<\/p>\n
The NBA has launched a formal investigation into the Milwaukee Bucks over the signing of guard Gary Trent Jr., with league officials examining whether the franchise breached collective bargaining rules during free agency.<\/p>\n
According to ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania, the league is investigating whether Milwaukee had a prohibited \u201cprior agreement\u201d in place before Trent officially became a free agent \u2013 a violation that, if proven, could result in significant penalties.<\/p>\n
Trent, 27, signed a four-year, $64 million (US) contract with the Bucks this off-season after opting out of the second year of his previous deal.<\/p>\n
The payday came despite Trent averaging just 8.1 points per game on 38.7 per cent shooting during the 2025-26 season \u2013 his lowest scoring output since his rookie campaign with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2018-19.<\/p>\n
After joining Milwaukee on a veteran minimum contract in 2024 and impressing with 11.1 points per game and a strong playoff campaign, Trent signed a two-year, $7.5 million extension before last season. That deal included a player option, which he declined to become an unrestricted free agent before agreeing to his lucrative new contract.<\/p>\n
According to Charania, rival executives had expected Trent to return to Milwaukee for months, while at least one rival team had explored the possibility of acquiring him via sign-and-trade.<\/p>\n
FILE – Milwaukee Bucks guard Gary Trent Jr. (5) plays in the first half of an NBA basketball game Jan. 11, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski, File)Source: AP<\/p>\n
The NBA\u2019s collective bargaining agreement strictly prohibits teams from reaching agreements with free agents before the permitted negotiating period, making any evidence of a prior arrangement a serious matter.<\/p>\n
The league has acted in similar cases before. <\/p>\n
In 2000, the Minnesota Timberwolves were stripped of draft picks and Joe Smith\u2019s contract was voided after the NBA uncovered an illegal agreement promising the forward a future multimillion-dollar deal in exchange for signing a series of below-market contracts.<\/p>\n
The Trent investigation isn\u2019t the NBA\u2019s only active probe.<\/p>\n
The NBA is also continuing its investigation involving the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard<\/a>, with commissioner Adam Silver hopeful the matter will be resolved before the start of the new season.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m hopeful that it will wrap up this summer,\u201d Silver said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe league did not pause the trade. The parties to the trade made a decision not to go forward given that the investigation remained open. The investigation needs to run its course.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Silver remains optimistic, ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania reported the process is still expected to take several more weeks before a resolution is reached.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Clippers and Raptors went to do a trade call the league told them they couldn\u2019t go thru with this. The Kawhi Leonard deal is paused and from my understanding we\u2019re still weeks out from a resolution,\u201d Charania said on The Pat McAfee Show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Adam Silver has made a plea to LeBron James as the NBA superstar addresses his future. Plus, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-805391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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