In two hours, NBA free agency truly begins. I know that nothing can officially be announced,

but starting at 6 o'clock here on June 30th, NBA free agents can talk to teams. And so lots of

stories will leak out tonight and tomorrow regarding NBA free agency. And there was an

interesting development yesterday because over the last few days, we've seen a lot of players opting out

and then immediately signing new contracts like Kyrie Irving did in Dallas,

like James Hardin did with the Los Angeles Clippers,

even like my little old Brooklyn Nets did,

where they was the other way with guys like Dayron Sharp and Zaire Williams.

But LeBron James had something very interesting happened yesterday.

And honestly, if LeBron just picked up his $52.6 million option, which we all expected, and that was it, I think we would just go about our business.

But what made things unique is that Rich Paul, his business partner, released a statement along with LeBron picking up this option.

And that statement, I think rightfully so, has caused a lot of speculation and a lot of discussion.

Right.

I'll read the statement to you.

Obviously, give me your first reaction to what he means by this.

But Rich Paul says and writes, LeBron wants to compete for a championship.

He knows the Lakers are building for the future.

He understands that.

But he values a realistic chance of winning at all.

We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future.

He, James, wants to make every season he has left count.

And the Lakers understand that and are supportive and want what's best for him.

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