LeBron Met With the Cavs in July — Then Chose Philadelphia Anyway
Shams confirmed LeBron sat down with Cleveland's front office in Akron. He landed with the Sixers instead, and fantasy managers get a top-25 asset in a new home.
Top-25 value survives the move; new role in Philly is the only wrinkle.
- Met Cavs FO and Gilbert family in Akron, early July
- 20.9 pts, 7.2 ast, 6.1 reb in 60 games (2025-26)
- 41.4 fantasy pts/game last season (2025-26)
- Ranked #23 overall, #9 among forwards on our board
- Up +7.9 FPTS over his last five games vs avg
We finally know why Cleveland ran free agency like a team expecting a superstar. On the Game Over podcast, Rich Paul and ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed that LeBron James sat down with the Cavs' front office and ownership — Koby Altman, Brandon Weems and the Gilbert family — in Akron at the start of July. It was, by all accounts, the only full meeting James granted any team.
And then he signed with the Sixers anyway. So a 41-year-old forward who averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds across 60 games last season (2025-26) is now a Philadelphia problem for the rest of the East to solve. Charania said the meeting had been floating around as an off-the-record whisper for weeks before he could stand it up on air.
What actually happened in that room is anyone's guess. One read: Cleveland played hardball, wouldn't make the roster guarantees James wanted, and watched him walk. The other: LeBron was never seriously in, took the meeting for plausible deniability, and floated demands he knew his hometown club couldn't meet. Both are defensible. Neither changes where his fantasy value now lives.
Why the Fantasy Value Holds
Here's the part that matters for your roster. James finished last season as our No. 23 overall player and No. 9 at the forward spot, posting 41.4 fantasy points per game (2025-26). Over his final five games he was running +7.9 above his own season average — hardly the profile of a guy winding down. The scenery changed; the production floor didn't.
The one thing to actually watch is usage. In Cleveland he'd have shared touches with an already-crowded core; in Philadelphia, the assist and scoring split depends on how the Sixers structure their offense around him. If the ball runs through him, that 41.4 mark from last season is a fair baseline. If he slides into a lower-usage complementary role, trim your expectations a touch.
The verdict: hold, and hold confidently. A top-25 asset who was trending up late doesn't lose value because he changed uniforms and picked a rivalry over a homecoming. Draft him where his rank says, then monitor how many minutes and touches Philly hands him in the first two weeks before you decide whether he's a buy or a fade.
