LeBron James

LeBron agrees to Lakers deal

The 33-year-old superstar announced via his agency he has agreed to a $154million contract with the Lakers.

James will not comment further on his decision to join the Lakers, according to a report from ESPN.

James averaged 27.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. He upped those numbers to 34 points and 9.1 rebounds during Cleveland's run to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.

James enters the market

James, 33, would have made $35.6 million in the 2018-19 season had he exercised his option with the Cavs. According to ESPN, James could still fetch as much as $207 million over five years from the Cavaliers, while other teams can offer a max of $152 million over four years.

James had until Friday at midnight ET to opt out of the final year of his existing deal with the Cavaliers. He could still re-sign with Cleveland, although the strong current from national media is James appears ready to move again.

What next for LeBron James?

James, who has the ability to utilise a player option in his contract and become a free agent, is believed to be ready to move on from Cleveland. The Ohio native brought a championship to the Cavaliers in his second stint with the team, but it appears he may end his career in a different jersey.

Here are three fits for James this offseason and three teams to avoid:

HITS

James leads Cavs into NBA Finals

James continued his dominance on Sunday, leading the Cavaliers to an 87-79 victory over the Celtics in Boston as Cleveland earned their fourth successive trip to the Finals.

Cavs superstar James scored a game-high 35 points with 15 rebounds and nine assists to see Cleveland clinch a 4-3 series win.

Elite in all facets of the game, James controlled the tempo and stepped up defensively to stop Boston's young, athletic line-up at TD Garden.

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James honoured by statue effort

Aaron Carey, who played basketball at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School six years after the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar did, started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the statue.

“We want to do this with the fans,” Carey told the Akron Beacon-Journal. "We want fans to be able to thank LeBron for what he has done for Akron and the Cavs.”

Carey has contacted Omri Amrany, who has created statues of many basketball legends, including Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

LeBron James scores 2,000 points

James became just the third player in NBA history to score at least 2,000 points in 10 or more consecutive seasons following his haul of 37 points in Cleveland's 121-114 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

The three-time NBA champion and four-time MVP sits behind Hall of Famers Karl Marlone (12) and Michael Jordan (11) on the short list.

James – in his 15th NBA season – finished the game with 37 points on 14-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

LeBron James has now reached 2,000-points this season.

James leads Cavs past Raptors

The Cavaliers conceded 79 points in the first half but James led the comeback with 35 points, 17 assists and zero turnovers midweek.

In doing so, James became the first player with at least 35 points, 15 assists and no turnovers in a game since turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78.

Kevin Love, playing in just his second game back from injury, scored 23 points with 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. More importantly, he and James have displayed excellent camaraderie since his return.

James speaks out against racism

James has been outspoken in opposition of United States president Donald Trump in the past, and continued that on Monday.

He also took time to honour King and the efforts he took to help fight racism and oppression.

"The state of racism will never die, but what we cannot do is allow it to conquer us as people," James said Monday, via ESPN. "We can't allow it to divide us... The guy in control has given people and racism, and negative racism, an opportunity to be out and outspoken without fear.

Durant on James's level

James is a three-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP, while the 32-year-old has been named MVP on four occasions – not to mention his 13 All-Star appearances.

The former Miami Heat forward is regarded as arguably the greatest basketballer of all time,

Durant is still some way off matching James' long list of achievements with just one championship, Finals MVP and NBA MVP to his name, but the Warriors forward feels he is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath.

LeBron leads shorthanded Cavaliers

Philadelphia were also without Joel Embiid and T.J. McConnell, but with Ben Simmons, Robert Covington, Dario Saric and J.J. Redick still in the fold, they were going to be a tough out for the Cavs.

Thanks to James' third triple-double of the season, Cleveland were able to get back on the winning track. The 32-year-old had 30 points, 13 assists and 13 rebounds while scoring or assisting on each of the Cavaliers' final 22 points.