LeBron James Opts Out Of Contract: Reports

CLEVELAND, OH — LeBron James is officially opting out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, cleveland.com reports. This means the star forward will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday. It also means non-stop speculation about where James will be playing basketball next season.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst confirmed cleveland.com's initial reports. He noted that the decision is more interesting for two non-Cleveland teams' chances to land James, namely the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets.

By turning down his $35.6 million player option for an additional year, James more or less closed the door on him joining the Rockets next season. Houston simply doesn't have a clear path to creating enough cap space to sign the four-time MVP.

For the Lakers, the opposite is true. James declining his player option is a boon for their courting efforts. Los Angeles has reportedly been frantically attempting to assemble a trade for disgruntled San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard, an attempt to add a star before James has to decide where he wants to play.

Effectively, that means the race for James' service may be down to a two-team heat: Cleveland vs Los Angeles. The Cavaliers certainly could offer No. 23 plenty of money and influence on the team's direction, but L.A. is an iconic NBA franchise with young assets to spare.

James is coming off one of the best seasons of his 15-year career. He averaged 27.5 points per game, while shooting 54 percent from the field. He also averaged 9.1 assists per game, and 8.6 rebounds per game.

To boot, he led Cleveland to another NBA Finals appearance, losing a four-game series to the Golden State Warriors.

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch