LeBron James draws interest from Timberwolves after leaving Lakers

The Timberwolves reached out to LeBron James and expressed interest in signing the 41-year-old forward after free agency opened Tuesday, putting Minnesota into the first wave of teams testing whether short-term flexibility could land the league’s biggest name.

James informed the Lakers that he planned to play elsewhere in the 2026-27 season, ending an eight-season run in Los Angeles and setting up a record-setting 24th NBA season. He spent those eight years with the Lakers and helped deliver the franchise’s 2019-20 championship, making his departure one of the defining moves of the opening night of free agency.

Minnesota’s outreach came as leaguewide speculation hardened around James’s next stop. Jon Krawczynski and Sam Amick identified the Wolves as a possible destination, while rival front offices have also continued to mention Golden State, Cleveland and Miami as teams with a plausible path to him. Rich Paul, James’s agent, told Shams Charania that the Lakers could move on without James because he would be playing elsewhere, a signal that the decision had moved beyond simple leverage and into the market’s central question.

That market also exposed how other teams were trying to turn cap room and roster churn into one decisive move. Quentin Grimes, an unrestricted free agent, was reported unlikely to return to Philadelphia after spending the 2025-26 season on his qualifying offer. Grimes averaged 13.4 points and 3.3 assists while shooting a career-low .334 from three-point range, numbers that made his next contract a test of whether teams still value his upside more than his last-season efficiency.

Denver forward Spencer Jones also remained in play after receiving a $2.65 million qualifying offer from the Nuggets. Jones said on LinkedIn that he turned down a midseason offer worth about $2 million per year in guaranteed money and is now negotiating a deal worth more than double that figure, another sign that teams and players alike are betting on one strong season to reset the market.

Chicago stayed active as well. The Bulls had interest in Norman Powell and discussed a potential trade with the Cavaliers, while Joe Cowley suggested Chicago could also be eyeing Illinois native Max Strus. Together, the moves showed a free-agency opening shaped less by broad spending than by a few clubs trying to clear space, chase one transformative name and define the next phase of the league’s power map.