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LeBron James is officially dragging it.
It’s been three weeks since he bid the Los Angeles Lakers adieu, stating his intention to play for a new team in 2026-27. It’s been two weeks since free agents could put pen to paper with new teams. NBA Summer League came and went, and the biggest name out there has still yet to pick a destination
Get it over with already.
Not long ago, I was applauding James for saving free agency. But it’s almost August now. Like many others, I'm ready for James to finally announce where he’ll be playing. This current state of limbo is taking up too much oxygen. The anticipation is suffocating.
Everyday, there’s a new debate about where James should or shouldn't go, or whether something he said was a hint about what he's thinking. The latest on James came from a familiar source, Rich Paul, who made it sound like this process could drag on even longer.
“We're not going to be rushed. It's his choice to make and when he makes the choice, he'll make it,” Paul said on the latest episode of his Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman.
It’s exhausting. And though Paul insisted it wasn’t about attention, it comes off that way.
That said, I recognize James has earned every right to be annoying about this. To line up everything necessary to make a big announcement about his possible last stop, from business to basketball. Though it seems he's only deciding between a handful of teams, he can wait until December to sign if he wants. The NBA's all-time leading scorer doesn’t owe it to anybody to make a swift decision. Not even Adam Silver.
Any personal problem we have with James waiting this long is just that, a personal problem. His delayed decision has no real-world impact that the actual people involved aren’t willing to endure. The schedule makers will wait until they can't. The same goes for potential suitors waiting to fill roster holes. Irritated by the pomp of it all or not, the rest of us will wait too.
How Spain nullified Messi in his final World Cup
If Sunday's World Cup final was the last time we see Lionel Messi suit up for Argentina, it'll go down as one of the most forgettable performances in an otherwise unforgettable career.
That's because Argentina never belonged on the field with Spain to begin with, wrote FTW's Robert Zeglinski.
"Yes, Messi led Argentina to its third World Cup Final in the last six tournaments. Yes, Messi remains an incredible player for whom we have run out of appropriate adjectives. And absolutely, it sure seemed like the Argentines resembled a team of destiny, so to speak. Never mind that the soccer gods tend to laugh at those who they think have it all figured out. That's why you don't tempt fate. This was still a lesser, older, and slower version of Messi. Despite an obvious heart of a champion, this was still an inferior Argentina team that, quite frankly, did not belong on the same field with a team as polished as Spain."
Quick hits: NFL biggest additions ... Doomsday is here ... and more
- As we transition from football to football, here's Christian D'Andrea with a breakdown of every NFL team's biggest 2026 offseason addition.
- We got our first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday on Monday, and it truly had it all, showcasing a litany of superheroes we've yet to see share the screen.
- Warde Manuel is out as the athletic director of Michigan, a move that will cost the Wolverines upward of $12 million.
- Connor Bedard made a passionate pitch to Patrick Kane as the former Blackhawk considers a return to Chicago.
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This article originally appeared on For The Win: LeBron has every right to be annoying about his decision
