NBA Rumors: LeBron James to Become a Free Agent in July

By Cheri Cheng - 29 Jun '15 09:38AM

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James will be opting out of his $21.6 million player option, league sources reported. James will be a free agent starting on July 1.

This would be the third time in over the past six seasons that James will become an unrestricted free agent. James, however, is expected to re-sign with the Cavaliers. ESPN.com's Chris Broussard reported that James does not plan on meeting with other teams. General Manager David Griffin said last week that he is optimistic that James and Kevin Love, who just opted out of his contract, will re-sign.

Sources reported to ESPN that James intends to stay away from free agent talks until the Cavaliers have figured out what they will do with their other free agents. Several players, including Love, J.R. Smith, Tristan Thompson and Iman Shumpert, will become unrestricted or restricted free agents.

Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group wrote:

"James will take a wait-and-see approach while the Cavaliers tend to their housekeeping matters, league sources told Northeast Ohio Media Group. The four-time MVP has a player option deadline of Monday, and he will decline to pick up that deal for next season.

The belief is James wants to observe how management goes about retaining and accumulating assets keep the organization in win-now mode and improve the roster. The chance of James bolting the city of Cleveland for a second time is slim, but his approach will allow him to assess the Cavaliers' moves before re-signing. It also applies pressure on the organization to do whatever is necessary to strengthen the team."

The Cavaliers will be able to offer James a max contract of around $22 million. James is expected to sign a one-year deal with a player option for the 2016-17 season.

James, who led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, which they lost to the Golden State Warriors, averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 assists and 6.0 rebounds during the regular season. In the playoffs, James stepped up his game with the absence of Kyrie Irving and Love, and averaged 30.1 points, 8.5 assist and 11.3 rebounds.