When it comes to LeBron James' free agency, momentum appears to be on the Los Angeles' Lakers side.
But as it turns out, the 4-time MVP may not be willing to make the first move.
According to a new report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne, James "remains hesitant to be the first superstar to decide on the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency." That potentially puts pressure on the Lakers to land at least one superstar -- specifically San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard or Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George -- prior to James' free agent decision, which is likely to come sooner rather than later.
Per the report:
There's a race to secure Leonard before James is faced with deciding whether to become a free agent on Friday, especially with concern that Oklahoma City's Paul George is no longer assured of signing with the Lakers, league sources said.
Another preference by James that could impact free agency, league sources said, is that he wants to make a decision quickly in July free agency.
While that would seemingly bode well for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the report goes on to call the chances of James remaining with his hometown team "murky." Although the Cavs have been working on avenues to improve their roster in an effort to entice James to stay home, the 14-time All-Star has thus far been unwilling to engage with the team since its season-ending loss in the NBA Finals.
Following the conclusion of the NBA Draft last week, Cleveland general manager Koby Altman said the Cavs have had "good dialogue" with James' management team.
"LeBron has more than earned the right to approach his contracts the way he does," Altman said. "He's done that before, so this is nothing new for us. We want to respect his space during this process. And I continue to have really good dialogue with his management team as he goes through that process."
According to ESPN, the Cavs have inquired about Leonard, who has requested a trade from the Spurs, but likely don't possess enough assets to pull off such deal.
Cleveland has also been linked to George, as well as All-Star point guard Chris Paul, although like the rest of the league, appears to be in a holding pattern until James makes his free agency decision.
For all the latest on James' free agency, follow our LeBron James 2018 free agency rumor tracker.
