LeBron James Transfer to Lakers on Four-Year Deal Announced Right Before 76ers' Planned Meeting With His Agents
LeBron James has signed up with the Los Angeles Lakers, a four-year contract worth $154 million in a move that sees the NBA superstar move on to the Western Conference. The news came just at the time that reports have emerged that his representatives planned to meet with the Philadelphia 76ers.
James' agent, Klutch Sports, has released a statement on social media to confirm the move on Sunday, July 1, the same day that representatives from the group were reportedly planning to meet with the Sixers. The uncaptioned photo posted on Twitter says it all.
"LeBron James, four time NBA MVP, three time NBA finals MVP, fourteen time NBA All Star, and two time Olympic gold medalist has agreed to a four year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers," the agent group said in a statement marked for "immediate release" dated July 1.
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The news, which now shifts the balance of the league and will likely affect all other free agent signing decisions from this point on, was first broken on social media by Tom Withers, a sports writer for the Associated Press.
This new development now renders moot a meeting that, according to the Bleacher Report, will have seen representatives from LeBron James' camp across the table from the Philadelphia 76ers. Reports say that the former star of the Cleveland Cavaliers will skip out on the meeting as well.
James himself has more or less confirmed that he is leaving Cleveland with a new post on Instagram, where he put up a photo of the Cavaliers' 2016 NBA title victory parade to go along with a few words of thanks for his former team. "Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons. This will always be home," James wrote.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has thanked James as well for bringing an NBA ring to the team. "We look forward to the retirement of the famous #23 Cavs jersey one day down the line," Gilbert said.
