LeBron James is going to be moving on to a new team after his agent Rich Paul mentioned the superstar will not return to the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. James has been linked to the Warriors and Heat, but it’s his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers who are getting the most buzz in predictions markets. The Cavaliers are trading at $0.57 per share to be James’ next stop, though it would be more of a reunion than a new setting. James was drafted by the Cavaliers and then returned to the franchise after four years in Miami. Trade on where LeBron will play next season and more NBA markets at Kalshi, where new users get a $15 bonus after making $15 in trades:
The Philadelphia 76ers are also in the mix for James after acquiring Jaylen Brown in a trade with the Boston Celtics, but they can’t offer more than Cleveland. The Cavaliers have a strong setup for James to fit right in, and the thought of playing with Donovan Mitchell is surely intriguing for the future Hall of Famer. Here’s a look at the newest Kalshi prediction markets for James’ next team. If you don’t already have an account, you can claim the newest Kalshi promo code CBSSPORTS.
| James’ next team | Market rates at Kalshi |
| Cavaliers | $0.57 |
| Lakers or retire | $0.02 |
| Warriors | $0.18 |
| 76ers | $0.07 |
| Heat | $0.11 |
On Monday, June 29, Shams Charania of ESPN stated that forward Draymond Green will decline his $27.7 million player option for the upcoming season. With that salary off the books or potentially reduced at a later date (note: both James and Green are represented by Paul), the Warriors had flexibility under the salary cap to offer James in free agency. hat led to speculation that James would join Steph Curry with a potential trade for Wizards center Anthony Davis also part of the discussion.
The idea was that a James-Davis-Steph Curry Big 3 in the Bay Area (with Green also an option at a reduced number) would be enough to sway James to move to Northern California. James, Davis and Curry all played together on the 2024 USA Olympic basketball team that won the gold medal in Paris.
The talk of James joining Golden State being imminent tapered off, but the Warriors are still in the mix. Agent Rich Paul has about a half-dozen teams his friend and client could join, including the Heat and 76ers. But the thinking is that LeBron will be looking to close out his career with the hometown Cavaliers, where he has played 11 seasons and won one of his four NBA titles.
James is coming off his worst statistical season since he was a 19-year-old rookie in 2003. He averaged a career-low 20.9 points while averaging just 6.1 rebounds per game (third worst of his career).
But he looked reenergized in the playoffs, averaging 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists while shooting 45.9% from the field. He helped a Luka Doncic-less Los Angeles team upset the Rockets in the first round of the postseason before the Lakers were swept by the defending champion Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals.
The prediction markets jumped on Golden State in anticipation of James’ arrival, with Kalshi earlier in the week giving the Warriors a 9% chance to win next season’s NBA title. But now they are down to $0.04 cents per share, and Cleveland went from $0.03 cents per share to $0.07 cents per share. Trade the NBA championship at Kalshi and get a $15 bonus after making $15 in trades:
| 2027 NBA champion | Market rates at Kalshi |
| Thunder | 24% |
| Spurs | 20% |
| Knicks | 8% |
| 76ers | 7% |
| Celtics | 7% |
| Cavaliers | 7% |
| Heat | 6% |
