LeBron James didn’t need to say much to take over the NBA conversation again. One vague update about his future was enough to send contenders circling, and Kendrick Perkins believes that was exactly the point. The former Cavaliers big man ripped into the rollout surrounding LeBron’s free agency chatter, arguing the four-time champion already knows where this is headed and is simply letting the league chase the mystery.

Perkins, who briefly shared a locker room with James in Cleveland, compared the entire situation to a perfectly timed lure dropped into the water. According to him, teams, insiders, and fans all bit instantly. While ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that virtually every contender has checked in on LeBron’s camp since the season ended, Perkins dismissed the suspense as calculated theater from someone who has always stayed several moves ahead.

“We took the bait,” said ESPN analyst Perkins, who was part of the 2003 draft and teamed briefly with James on the Cavs in 2015. “He threw his fishing pole out there and let the bait just hang, and he caught some big fish, caught the attention that he wanted, while he’s sitting at home. Look, I be knowing LeBron all my life. He moves like the president; he already has a plan in place. He knows what he’s doing; he knows what his next move is.”

Perkins further added, “he knows what the counter gonna be. He knows where he wants to go, where he wants to be, and if he wants to be on the Lakers; he already knows that. This right here was just throwing the bait out to get some more national media attention real quick, to get people talking about it, and here we are talking about it again.”

It’s not the first time that the ESPN analyst has criticized LeBron James’ move.

It was in 2024, when Kyrie Irving made a deep playoff run with the Mavericks, that LeBron James publicly voiced how much he missed being Kyrie’s running mate. Perkins even then ripped LeBron on-air for grabbing headlines for himself.

This even led King James to unfollow his former Cavs teammate on X. Later, Perk would deliver one of the most newsworthy quotes.

“Everybody didn’t follow Jesus, I’ll be ok.” So, the criticism of the 22x All-Star’s free agency behavior remains, as he dropped the fresh intel about the future plans.

Still balling out as the first option for the Los Angeles Lakers has now fuelled rumors that he is surely coming back. Is that the case?

“I’m still in the moment of just taking my time,” James said on the recent episode of Mind the Game podcast.

“I haven’t even really thought about it too much. Obviously, I understand that I’m a free agent and I can control my own destiny… but like, I haven’t even really got to that point. I haven’t even taken my family vacation yet, which is going to happen after Memorial Day. That’s kind of the thing at the forefront of my mind.”

While Bron remains non-committal, behind the scenes, the teams are making their moves. We already had the Cavs and the Warriors in the forefront, but let’s not discount the Denver Nuggets.

Reporter Matt Moore stated, “The mechanism is pretty simple, which is if you got the MLE available, use it on LeBron.”

Another Nuggets analyst, Ryan Blackburn, also detailed another complex plan.

“Sign five minimum contracts, you draft the 26th overall pick and then you sign and trade LeBron James and Peyton Watson for each other, and LeBron James can take as much as $11.1 million in order to be Denver’s starting small forward,” Blackburn said.

To make the numbers work under the NBA’s tax and apron limits, Denver would likely fill out the roster with several minimum contracts – low-cost one-year deals that keep payroll flexible. Blackburn’s “five minimums” idea is essentially a cap-saving strategy to open space for a blockbuster addition like LeBron, whose first-year hit could reportedly count for only about $11.1 million under the proposed setup.

On the court, pairing LeBron with Jokic could create one of the league’s most dangerous offensive duos, boosting Denver’s championship ceiling with elite playmaking and scoring. But the move comes with risks: losing Watson’s defensive versatility and sacrificing depth could expose weaknesses, while fitting another ball-dominant veteran into Jokic’s system may not be seamless.

Just as the Nuggets, Lakers, Warriors, Cavs and others are already doing the calculations, some of LeBron’s former teammates are hoping for a storybook ending for King James.

Another former teammate wants LeBron James to return ‘home’

One of the most reported options remains a reunion with the Cavaliers. The team where Bron began his career and where he delivered the first title during his second run. It’s a perfect ending narrative for the Ohio native. This is what Channing Frye also wants.

“Go back to Cleveland,” Frye, who is a member of the Cavs’ 2016 title victory along with James, said on the Road Trippin’ Show. “That’s what I want to see. Go back home. Last year, let’s get it done. “Cleveland can move on from James Harden. So now they have a ball handler. They have a guy who can play four different positions. He’ll make them tougher, or he’ll call them out and get them traded. Either one. That’s just facts.”

There is a small roadblock, as the Cavs would require a serious financial sacrifice. But insider Jake Fischer clarified the 41-year-old would not be open to signing a minimum contract. So now, teams, including the Cavaliers, will have to consider when drafting their plan for LeBron James.