Report: LeBron James will announce free agency plans by July 4

The deadline that could determine LeBron James’ future in the NBA, one that seemed so far in the distance when Cavaliers training camp began in September, is now only days away.

James has until June 29 to sign his option to play for the Cavaliers in the 2018-19 season at a salary of $35.6 million. He will become a free agent on July 1 if he doesn’t pick up his option, and then the speculation of where he will play next will really amp up. He could re-sign with the Cavaliers or move to any other team.

James, a native of Akron, played seven years with the Cavaliers after being selected with the first pick of the 2003 draft. He played four years with Miami, winning two NBA titles with the Heat, before returning to the Cavaliers for the 2014-15 season. He helped them win an NBA championship in 2016.

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, James will not keep the basketball world in suspense long. Windhorst in a recent podcast, said he expects James to make an announcement before July 4. James announced on ESPN on July 8, 2010, his decision to leave the Cavaliers to join the Heat. He wrote an essay in Sports Illustrated on July 11, 2014, his plans to return to the Cavaliers.

OddsShark.com in Las Vegas has made the Los Angeles Lakers overwhelming favorites to land James. The Lakers are listed as -325, meaning someone betting on James joining the Lakers would have to bet $325 to win $100 if he does sign with the Lakers. The Cavaliers are next at +325, meaning someone betting $100 on him staying with the Cavaliers would win $325 if he does stay home.

Mark Hesler of the Orange County Register quoted an unnamed Eastern Conference general manager saying James is working the phones to put a super team together to challenge the two-time NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

“LeBron is doing what he does - calling players on other teams he wants to play with,” the general manager said.

According to Windhorst, James’ preference is to remain with the Cavaliers.

“I think LeBron’s preference is to stay in Cleveland,” Windhorst said before the NBA draft June 21. “I think he’s looking for reasons to want to stay in Cleveland.”

James’ wife, Savannah, is also from the Akron area. He has two sons -LeBron Jr, and Bryce - and a daughter, Zhuri.

“We continue to have good dialogue with LeBron’s management team,” Cavs general manager Koby Altman said after the draft. “I think LeBron has more than earned the right to approach his contracts the way he does.

“That’s probably all I can say at this point regarding him, but we don’t take him for granted. We love him, this city loves him. He means the world to us and this franchise.”

Everything circles back to what James said on Feb. 2 when he shot down a rumor claiming he was interested in joining the Warriors:

“There’ve been so many stories about me in the last few months and the last few days about where I’m going and where I’m at,” James said after the Cavaliers finished a practice in Independence, “If you don’t hear something come from my voice, then it’s not true.”

That remark made almost five months ago fits perfectly with a June 25 report by Ramona Shelborne of ESPN.

Shelbourne is reporting teams should not bother rolling out the red carpet to woo James when free agency does begin. She reported James and his agents know enough about how free agency works to keep the process low-key.

When James became a free agent in 2014, he met personally with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and management from the Heat. James’ agents, Rich Paul and Mark Termini, met with representatives from the Bulls, Lakers, Suns, Rockets and Mavericks at the Klutch Sports office in Cleveland before James ultimately decided to return to the Cavaliers.