LeBron James has chosen not to exercise his $24 million player option with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the upcoming 2016-2017 season, according to his agent Rich Paul, says ESPN’s Chris Broussard. James will officially become a free agent on July 1. This information has been released in relation to James’s deadline of midnight Wednesday to notify the Cavaliers whether or not he would be opting into the final year of his short-term deal.
Paul has chosen not to comment on James’s plan going forward.
James wants to stay in Cleveland
Although James has chosen not to pick up the final year of his contract, he has publicly stated that he has no plans of leaving the Cavaliers again. During Cleveland’s championship parade last Wednesday, which saw an estimated turnout of over 1.3 million people, James reportedly told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, “I love it here in Cleveland. I have no intentions of leaving.”
The decision to opt out of his contract comes as little surprise to many, even before his statements last week, as James was strongly expected to opt out of his second year to sign a bigger contract with Cleveland. James has taken a similar approach to signing contracts in the previous two offseasons, agreeing to short-term deals with the Cavaliers so he may opt out and resign with the team for a larger amount of money as the salary cap increases. If James takes another one-year deal with Cleveland next season, he would earn approximately $27.5 million.
Cavs hope to keep "big three" together
The Cavaliers hope to resign James in order to keep their core group of players intact, as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have already signed long-term deals with Cleveland.
This announcement comes on the heels of James’s decision not to play in the 2016 Rio Olympics. James helped lead both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic basketball teams to gold medals but chose to sit out this summer following Cleveland’s extended postseason run. James was named Finals MVP following Cleveland’s first championship win.