Timeline surfaces for LeBron James to make his free agent decision

The summer of waiting around for LeBron James may soon be coming to an end.

The former Los Angeles Lakers star James is expected to make his free agent decision this coming week, Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports reported Sunday. Deveney adds that James’ decision will likely then free up the market for other top remaining free agents.

James, 41, has officially been an unrestricted free agent for close to two full weeks now. But he continues to keep interested teams guessing, forcing them to recruit James through some bizarre methods.

As it stands right now, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Miami Heat, the Philadelphia 76ers, and possibly the Golden State Warriors appear to be leading the race to sign James. Meanwhile, rivals believe that a particular one of those teams has pole position for the 22-time NBA All-Star.

For reference, James held his “The Decision” special to announce that he was signing with the Miami Heat on July 8, 2010 (one week after free agency began). He then announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 on July 11 (10 days after free agency began) and later announced his decision to head to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018 on July 1 (the same day that free agency began).

James is now past all three of his previous timelines during this free agent go-around, but the waiting game might finally ending soon. The last we heard of James’ situation meanwhile was that he could come as a package deal with one notable former All-Star.