Much like in 2010, LeBron James has the entire NBA at his fingertips as he takes his time deciding which team he'll play for next. An unrestricted free agent whose agent Rich Paul has said is willing to play for far less than his market value, NBA teams' front offices and executives are scrambling to put themselves in the best position to land the aging yet still brilliant superstar.
LeBron's camp, though, has taken an interesting path regarding the accommodation of teams' pitches. Instead of taking the traditional route, which means meeting with a team's party, which may include players, coaches, front-office staff, and other essential people, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that LeBron's agent has asked execs to send him voice notes.
"Sources told ESPN's Shams Charania on Thursday that Rich Paul, James' agent and the CEO of Klutch Sports, has facilitated team executives in selling their vision to him by sending a voice note for James via Paul," ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote . "A few other teams, sources told Charania, have had their owner, or president, or general manager record a voice memo."
Popular sports commentator Jason Whitlock was beside himself over LeBron's latest tactic, saying it's just another in his long list of attention-grabbing shenanigans.
For over two decades, LeBron has held the NBA down, representing it to the best of his abilities and helping market the league to the four corners of the globe. Now 41, he remains a massive draw, with his name on the marquee in every arena he plays in. However, it cannot be denied that at this point, he now has to share the spotlight with some of the league's young stars such as Victor Wembanyama , Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander .
But according to Whitlock, LeBron isn't willing to step away from the spotlight.
" LeBron James does not know when to say when. That is clear as day. The last king of Cleveland has no idea when to say enough is enough. He's going to milk these next two or three weeks, these next 10 days of free agency, for as much attention as he can possibly get," Whitlock said .
"This is a mistake. This is LeBron James chasing the ghost of the GOAT, Michael Jordan, one last time," he stressed.
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Whitlock argued that at his age, LeBron should have his mind made up regarding what he likes. Having been around the NBA for 23 seasons, he should have had a lay of the land and know where he wants to go for his 24th season. However, from the look of things, LeBron wants to be wined and dined like a young prospect who's deciding on which shoe company he wants to go with.
"This is a 41-year-old man, 24 years into his NBA career, and he still wants a name, image, and likeness deal. He still wants to be recruited like he's a 16- or 17-year-old all over again," Whitlock claimed.
"How many times can you do this? When you reach a certain age, you're set in your ways. You know exactly what you want. You know exactly what type of woman you like. You know how you want her to smell, what curves she has, what her eye color is. You already know. You've been around the block so many times," he expressed.
Whitlock believes that James has already made his mind up about returning to Cleveland, but just can't resist dragging this entire thing out.
"Everything else seems to be smoke and mirrors at this point. But LeBron can't resist. So he's going to drag this thing out. And he's got owners, executives, and coaches. He's baiting them into leaving him voicemails," Whitlock conveyed. "This is very womanly."
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
