LeBron James, Paul George and Luke Kennard have hit free agency, per reports

It’s official: LeBron James and Paul George are set to become free agents. One of them might even sign with a new team. They were among the many players who, at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, had to decide whether or not to pick up their player options. Others had to wait until that point to find out whether or not their team options would be picked up.

Here’s a summary of the news, starting with the two stars:

Lakers could get discount on James; Sixers to pursue George

James not going anywhereand if agreeing to less than the maximum on his new contract means the Lakers can add a game-changing player, he just might do it, according to a source who knows: James’ agent, Rich Paul, who told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin: “He prioritizes improving the roster. He’s been adamant about making every effort to improve the roster.”

The Lakers, who drafted James’ son Bronny with the No. 55 pick on Thursday, could potentially open the nontaxpayer mid-level exception ($12.9 million) provided James is willing to make about $18 million less than last season. You can get good players at that price.and, by the way, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors seem to be is heading towards a split.

The Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers are among Thompson’s suitors, according to The Athletic. The Clippers’ most pressing concern, however, is George’s free agency. If they don’t offer him a four-year deal, will he leave for the Philadelphia 76ers? Philly would like itand on Sunday, he will meet the Clippers, 76ers and Orlando Magic, according to The Athletic. The Magic, like the Sixers, have the wiggle room to offer him a max contract.

Grizzlies decline Kennard option, but reportedly want to keep him

When the Memphis Grizzlies drafted two shooting guards — Jaylen Wells and Cam Spencer — in the second round of the NBA draft on Thursday, it was fair to wonder about Luke Kennard’s future. Memphis acquired Kennard at the 2023 trade deadline, and while he’s shot the ball effectively since then, his defensive limitations make him an imperfect fit on a team led by Ja Morant (and he’s missed significant time due to injury).

Two days later, the Grizzlies declined Kennard’s $14.8 million option, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll replace him with rookies. According to ESPN, “both sides are eager to work out a restructured deal.”

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks noted, declining the option means Memphis is now $8 million below the luxury tax threshold. As it stands, the Grizzlies can’t pay him more than $11.5 million in the first year of a new deal without hitting the first apron. It makes sense that they would want to avoid doing this, but, unless they reduce their payroll elsewhere, they now risk losing it to a team that offers the full MLE.

Kennard’s other suitors could also have more playing time to offer him. While Memphis likes his shooting, there will be little playing time to share with Morant, Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart healthy.

Magic’s Wagner (not that one), Ingles in free agency

Orlando declined its team options on Moe Wagner ($8 million) and Joe Ingles ($11 million), but, according to ESPN and Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, both players are expected to discuss new contracts with the team in free agency. The Magic now have $52 million in cap space, and they would like to see what kind of improvements they could make with that money before returning to Wagner and Ingles, according to the Sentinel.

Wagner, 27, is the brother of Franz Wagner, Orlando’s soon-to-be 23-year-old forward (who is eligible for an extension this offseason). He’s also one of the best backup centers in the league and, now, one of the best centers on the free agent market. The Magic had as much depth as any team in the NBA last season, but now risk losing Wagner and Goga Bitadze.

Wagner and Ingles both signed two-year contracts with team options last season, and both have been key players on one of the league’s most effective benches in 2023-24. Ingles always had the option to decline, but Orlando appreciated his leadership last season, in addition to his shooting and ability to be a connector on offense. He’ll turn 37 in October, but don’t be surprised if he comes back with a smaller salary.

Thunder decline options on Joe, Wiggins (to re-sign)

The Oklahoma City Thunder, as always, are thinking ahead. Just like Orlando, the Thunder declined a few player options on Saturday, but the context here is entirely different. The plan is to give these guys raises.

If it had wanted to, Oklahoma City could have picked up the options and paid Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins $2.1 million and $2 million, respectively, next season. Instead, it plans to sign both of them to long-term deals, according to ESPN. The logic is simple: by being willing to pay them more than they would otherwise have earned following season, he can potentially lock them into long-term deals that will ultimately keep their salaries lower than if he had chosen to let them hit free agency next summer. (Also, it allows them to make Wiggins a restricted free agent.)

The young Thunder have about $30 million in cap space to play with before re-signing Joe and Wiggins, according to salary cap guru Yossi Gozlan, but they won’t have that kind of financial flexibility forever . Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams seem likely to get max rookie extensions, and with each year it will become more and more important for Oklahoma City to have players signed to team-friendly deals.

In the case of Joe, who shot 43.4 percent from three-point range this season — and was willing to take deep threes, contested threes and threes on the move — it would make sense for the Thunder to dip into their salary cap, rather than use his Early Bird rights (which would allow them to pay him a maximum of about $58 million over four years). Oklahoma City is in a position to overpay Joe now, so an early contract would totally make sense.

Westbrook chooses Clippers option; Love declines Heat option

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love are both should stay putbut the latter will technically be on the market. While Westbrook picked up his $4 million player option to remain with the Clippers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Love opted to decline his $4 million player option with the Miami Heat, also according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Love, who was roommates with Westbrook in college in 2007-08, is “excited to negotiate a new deal in the early days of free agency,” according to ESPN, and Miami is reportedly too.

Heat’s Martin opts out, Wizards’ Holmes signs unconventional deal

In short, here’s what happened with the player/team options on Saturday:

• Last season, Miami’s Caleb Martin couldn’t replicate the stellar shooting he showed in the 2023 playoffs, but it still didn’t make much sense to pick up his $7.1 million player option. dollars. He unsurprisingly opted out, according to Mike Scotto of HoopsHype, and is expected to find plenty of suitors in free agency. Everyone wants wings.
• I did a double-take when I saw that Richaun Holmes had declined his $12.8 million player option with the Washington Wizards. This isn’t your typical opt-out, though: He’ll return to the Wizards on a new contract with virtually the same amount of guaranteed money, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic , but it’ll be structured differently: It’s a two-year, $25.9 million deal, but only $250,000 of his $13.3 million salary is guaranteed in the second year. Even if Holmes never plays a minute for Washington under this deal, his contract will essentially function as a trade exception. In the best-case scenario (for him), the Wizards or another team will end up guaranteeing that money for 2025-26, thus keeping the de facto trade exception alive.
• The Portland Trail Blazers have picked up Dalano Banton’s $2.2 million team option, according to ESPN. Late-season surges can be deceiving, but if you saw what Banton did in Portland after the deadline, it was a no-brainer.
• Another formality: The NBA champion Boston Celtics have picked up Sam Hauser’s $2.1 million option, according to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. They are also reportedly trying to negotiate an extension with Hauser, who can sign long-term on July 9.
• The Hawks have exercised their $2.3 million option on Garrison Mathews, according to HoopsHype, and it’s simply a steal. I have no idea what Atlanta’s rotation will look like next season, but I do know that 44 percent 3-point shooters aren’t easy to come by.
• The Houston Rockets have picked up Jae’Sean Tate’s $7.6 million option, according to ESPN. This is another team that could potentially look quite different next season, but we know the Rockets want to make the playoffs and Tate is the kind of complementary player every playoff team needs.
• The Detroit Pistons have declined Evan Fournier’s $19 million team option, meaning they will have about $50 million in cap space this offseason, according to ESPN.
• Via HoopsHype, Cam Reddish has opted out of the Lakers for $2.5 million, Thomas Bryant has opted out of Miami for $2.8 million, Damion Lee has opted out of Phoenix for $2.9 million, Washington has declined its team option on Tristan Vukcevic ($2.4 million), and Detroit has declined its team options on Chimezie Metu ($2.7 million) and Stanley Umude ($2.1 million).