Chris Mannix’s NBA Notes: Latest on LeBron James, Gary Trent Jr.’s Peculiar Deal

LAS VEGAS — News and notes from Summer League …

LeBron, latest

Most conversations in Vegas about LeBron James’s future are open ended; executives asked about James’s next stop are as uncertain as you are. What we know is very little: James has all the information he needs and is holed up as he makes a, er, decision. Four teams—Golden State, Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia—are widely viewed as the front-runners. There’s some chatter about San Antonio, but that could be wishful thinking. Money, as James’s agent, Rich Paul, has noted, will not be the driving factor.

So where will James go? Best guess would be just that, a guess. Cleveland makes the most sense, both for the nostalgia (The Return, Take II!) and role on the wing-starved Cavs. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have made pitches, publicly and privately. Philadelphia probably offers James the best chance to win, but can anyone really envision James as a fourth (or fifth?) option on the 76ers?

And what about when? There’s plenty of buzz about James’s scheduled appearance at this weekend’s Fanatics Fest, where James will co-host his podcast with Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (James to Indiana!). It’s a tidy narrative, James revealing his future on this platform, but may just be that. The reality is with James not looking to tie up anyone’s payroll he can drag this out for days, weeks. Even longer.

What gives, Gary?

The hands down winner for the buzziest story the last few days has been Gary Trent Jr., whose new contract with Milwaukee raised a lot of eyebrows. A brief summary: In 2024, Trent, fresh off averaging 13.7 points with Toronto, signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal with the Bucks (hmmm). Last summer, Trent inked a two-year, $7.5 million deal, with the second year a player option (double hmmm). Then Trent averaged full-season career-lows in scoring (8.1 points) and field goal percentage (38.7%). When he opted out, Milwaukee rewarded Trent with a four-year, $64 million deal.

There’s an obvious way to read this: Trent signed a couple of below-market deals that helped keep the Bucks’ books clean during the Damian Lillard/Giannis Antetokounmpo eras. For his service, Milwaukee forked over a $16 million per year contract to a player most teams valued at significantly less. Two rival team sources tell SI they slotted Trent somewhere between the taxpayer midlevel exception ($6 million) and veteran’s minimum ($3.9 million).

It’s (alleged) cap circumvention, Milwaukee edition. Or is it? The Bucks have not formally announced the deal and the league office has yet to receive the contract. When they do, count on a push for an investigation. Some rival team officials suggest simply being forced to keep Trent at that salary is punishment. Others, though, insist that if the NBA doesn’t crack down on cap circumvention, all cap circumvention, then it opens the doors for more (alleged) side deals. Stay tuned.

Dun, Dun-duh, Dun(don)

Tom Dundon, the Trail Blazers’ penny-pinching owner, was in Las Vegas this week with members of his ownership group taking meetings, including one with Adam Silver. Dundon’s cost-cutting has become an embarrassment to the NBA, with the billionaire businessman slashing personnel, trimming everything from hotel costs to staff salaries, while handing his head coach, Micah Nori, a contract so humiliating the NBA Coaches Association came out vehemently against it.

Still, Silver has publicly defended him. Which makes his response on Tuesday to a question about negotiations between Dundon and the city of Portland over financing for renovations to the 30-year-old Moda Center notable. Dundon has been attempting to finalize $600 million in public cash for renovations, a process Silver says has gone “off track.”

“I was hoping more progress would have been made by now on that agreement,” said Silver. “I have a colleague, [head of investor transactions] Joe Maczko, who is day-to-day on it. We are working with both sides to ensure that the Trail Blazers can have a long-term future in Portland. But there are several open issues that still need to be resolved.”

Yeesh. Dundon has been clear. He wants the money, and he has no intention of putting his own cash into it. The state has already approved $365 million in public funding. The rest is slated to come from the city and county, where it has encountered resistance. City councilors have balked at the idea of pulling money from Portland’s Clean Energy Fund. Officials say they need more information from the team on renovations. The team says the city needs to commit to the funding to get them.

It’s all led to some anxiousness in the Pacific Northwest. Dundon says he isn’t looking to move the team, and even if he did, relocating got a lot more difficult with the NBA preparing to deposit expansion franchises in Seattle and Las Vegas. But Dundon clearly isn’t messing around when it comes to money. If the cash isn’t there, he will find it elsewhere.

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