The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov Talks LeBron Waiting Game & More

Nobody knows where LeBron James is going. That is not a dodge from Mike Vorkunov. That is his actual reporting.

The writer from The Athletic joined Seth Rollins on the show from Jersey City, exit 14C off the Turnpike, and offered the most honest read available on the biggest free agency watch in basketball: the circle of people who know is tiny, and everyone outside it is guessing.

Vorkunov reached for a comparison the guest host knew intimately. He had been watching a behind-the-scenes WWE show about Rollins faking a knee injury, and one line stuck. "There was like a thing where Triple H was like, 'Only eight guys know.' And that's it," Vorkunov said. "And I think with LeBron, I think there's like three guys who know. And I think anyone else is probably lying too."

The list of plausible landing spots he rattled off was long: Philadelphia, Cleveland, Miami, maybe Golden State, maybe Minnesota. What matters is the price. James will be signing for the minimum or close to it, which Vorkunov said makes him one of the best values in the NBA regardless of destination. Philly, Cleveland, or Minnesota get lifted into title contention on arrival. Golden State and Miami get a more complicated path.

Asked for the best basketball fit, Vorkunov made a case for Minnesota with Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, and LaMelo Ball. Then he talked himself partway out of it. The Spurs and Oklahoma City are still out west. "So I like to maximize the best team, he'd probably go out West, but to maximize his title chances, it's probably East somewhere."

Vorkunov was less patient with the idea that the NBA needs the decision to finish its schedule. Rollins called it a ruse, arguing the league can push a button and let an algorithm sort it out. Vorkunov mostly agreed that the contingencies are already built, though he noted the league genuinely wants its Christmas Day and opening week games locked before anything goes out, because the schedule cannot be changed once it is released.

The other unresolved mess is Kawhi Leonard. Vorkunov said the investigation itself is over and the NBA is now sifting through what the outside law firm found, deciding whether it wants to levy a punishment. From there the collective bargaining agreement lays out something close to a trial, with a case presented to an arbitrator and an appeals process written in behind it. Adam Silver has said he hopes it wraps by the end of summer. Vorkunov was careful to note that hope is not a prediction.

He still expects the Raptors trade to happen, unless the contract is voided outright, in which case the Clippers cannot trade Leonard at all.

The fun ending was a request for the next Knicks, a team nobody is talking about in July that ends up holding the trophy. Vorkunov stalled long enough to discover it was Rollins and Chris's shared birthday, then went with Philadelphia, citing a second year of VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey together and a healthy Joel Embiid. His actual sleeper came a beat later.

"The one thing that we're all sleeping on that could be the Knicks of next year is the team that was almost the Knicks of the previous year, the Pacers," Vorkunov said. "If Haliburton's back and he's healthy, like we shouldn't forget about him."