Free agency starts Tuesday in NBA, and LeBron James has all eyes on him once again

NBA free agency in 2010: Everyone waited for LeBron James to make a decision.

NBA free agency in 2026: Everyone is waiting again for James to make a decision.

James was the biggest domino to fall in the NBA's offseason player movement period 16 years ago when he decided to join Miami, and he may be the biggest domino to fall — at least in free agency — this summer as well. Free agency opens in the NBA on Tuesday evening, with James' future atop the list of most intriguing storylines that will be solved over the coming days and weeks.

It seems like retirement isn't happening yet, which would mean the NBA's all-time leader in points scored, minutes played and games played coming back for a record-extending 24th season and potentially — when including playoff contests — appearing in the 2,000th game of his career.

His options would figure to include staying with the Los Angeles Lakers, returning to Miami or Cleveland (both would have interest for obvious reasons) or even thinking about moving elsewhere like Golden State and teaming up with longtime friends Stephen Curry and Draymond Green to chase one more title.

Green — who is not expected to leave Golden State — on Monday declined his $27.6 million option for next season, doing so to give the Warriors more maneuverability to add players in the coming days, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because that detail was not revealed publicly by the team, and it raises the possibility that the Warriors might now have more of a selling point to pitch to James.

“When the time comes, you guys will know what I decide to do,” James said when the Lakers were eliminated this spring by Oklahoma City in a 4-0 sweep.

The time is coming.

The window when teams can begin officially talking with free agents — other than the ones on their own team, those talks could begin when the NBA Finals ended — opens at 6 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, and deals could be flying not long afterward.

In most cases, any new deals cannot be executed until at least the end of the NBA's offseason moratorium on July 6.

“This period we’re in right now, kind of from mid-May to mid-July, it’s a two-month sprint through the draft, combine, free agency, Summer League, all that,” Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said earlier this month. “We’re super busy right now. But it’s a fun time of year. This is where we get to make decisions, shape the roster, do all that stuff.”

The NBA finalists — champion New York and runner-up San Antonio — both will have moves to make in the coming days, though they are expected to keep their cores largely intact.

Plenty of decisions and roster-shaping already has happened around the league, either by trades (such as the Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster) or teams re-signing or extending their own players (such as Trae Young's $212 million deal with Washington and Austin Reaves' $185 million deal with the Lakers).

Miami will land Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis in a trade that sends Tyler Herro, other players and draft capital to Milwaukee, but that won't be finalized until that moratorium date passes. But in the interim, the Heat will be looking to add shooters — Tim Hardaway Jr., whose father's number is retired in Miami, and longtime Antetokounmpo favorite Khris Middleton make a lot of sense.

The Heat will be keeping Andrew Wiggins, who on Monday exercised his $30 million option for this coming season and, according to a person familiar with the talks between the sides, has agreed in principle on a $34 million deal for the following two seasons — with 2028-29 at his option.

More trades could be coming, with a person familiar with the negotiations confirming to the AP that Toronto has spoken with the Los Angeles Clippers on the possibility of Kawhi Leonard — who led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA title — returning to Ontario next season. And Boston is still believed to be holding talks about the possibility of trading 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown, who was the centerpiece of the Celtics' ultimately futile offer to land Antetokounmpo in trade discussions with Milwaukee.

“Nobody has won more combined regular-season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” Brown posted on social media over the weekend. He's right: The Celtics have won 523 games with Brown in the lineup, including playoff contests, which is six more than Denver has won with Nikola Jokic over that span.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

FILE - Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown plays during Game 6 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum,File)

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James salutes public address announcer Lawrence Tanter prior to an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill,File)

The NFL's Detroit Lions on Monday released cornerback Terrion Arnold, only days after his arrest over allegations that he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men who prosecutors believe he wrongly suspected of having stolen luxury goods and $100,000 in cash from him.

The team made the announcement on the X social media platform. The team did not give a reason, but the announcement came the same day that a Florida judge Arnold's bail at $1 million. Prosecutors say the three victims, including a man who worked as a driver for Arnold, were robbed while being held at gunpoint in a Tampa apartment in February.

Prosecutors had wanted Arnold held without bond on the eight felony charges he faces. But Chief Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sabella granted bond to him. He won’t be required to wear an ankle monitor because it would prevent him from taking the field for games and training.

The judge said Arnold already has a “paparazzi monitor,” referring to the photographers who have been watching his movements.

“If he shows up on a beach in Tahiti, he’ll be on social media,” Sabella said at the end of the bond hearing in Tampa.

Sabella said that although the charges are serious — each could bring a life sentence if Arnold is convicted — prosecutors are “not there yet” in having a strong case for Arnold’s guilt.

The judge did order Arnold to remain at his home in Tallahassee except for when he’s playing, training and traveling with the Lions. He also said Arnold cannot have any contact with other people tied to the case and must surrender his passport within 48 hours.

Arnold, 23, was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft after playing at the University of Alabama. He had 31 tackles and an interception last season as part of the Lions’ defense.

According to prosecutors, the victims were abducted three days after cash and luxury items, including Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags, were reported stolen from Arnold at an Airbnb rental in the Tampa area. Prosecutors allege that six of Arnold’s associates actually carried out the crimes, holding, beating and pistol-whipping the victims, and that Arnold wasn’t there at the time.

None of Arnold’s co-defendants had bond set for them. Two female co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities. Their statements tie Arnold, who was not at the apartment, to the crimes, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors argue that Arnold is as responsible for the crimes as his co-defendants because he told his associates that he thought he knew who had stolen from him and said he wanted to confront them, setting events in motion.

“Our office remains committed to seeking justice for the three victims in the case who were beaten, robbed, and held against their will,” said Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office.

But Harvey Steinberg, an attorney for Arnold, argued in court Monday that prosecutors are “not even close” to showing that Arnold that he knew or directed what his associates would do.

Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management, which represents Arnold, said before the Lions announced they were releasing Arnold that the judge’s ruling “confirms that there is very little evidence to even suggest any criminal involvement by Mr. Arnold.”

This story was updated to correct that among the charges Arnold faces are four robbery-related counts, not four assault counts.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, takes his seat before his pretrial detention hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Friends and family members of Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, listen in during his pretrial detention hearing iat the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Friends and family members of Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, react, when bond is set for him during his pretrial detention hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sabella presides during a pretrial detention hearing for Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, shakes hands with his attorneys R. Timothy Jansen, left, and A.J. Alvarez, during the conclusion of his pretrial detention hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)