Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been the subject of a lot of speculation this offseason, and that was again the case this week.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic’s European agent Misko Raznatovic took to social media to post a picture of a meeting with James and his business partner Maverick Carter:
Given LeBron’s uncertain future with the Lakers and the words in the caption, people naturally started speculating that Jokic’s agent was referring to him potentially joining the Nuggets next summer.
According to Ben Horney, Daniel Roberts and Alex Schiffer of Front Office Sports though, the meeting had nothing to do with James joining Jokic in Denver and instead was about a new basketball league that Carter is getting started:
The mysterious boat meeting last week in France between LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter, and Nikola Jokić’s European agent was about the planned international basketball league being spearheaded by Carter, multiple sources tell Front Office Sports.
The photo, posted to Instagram over the weekend by Jokić’s European agent Miško Ražnatović, caused speculation about whether the trio was talking about James joining the Nuggets or Jokić joining the Lakers.
Sources familiar with the situation tell FOS it was not about the Nuggets or Lakers.
James finishing his career with the Nuggets never really made any sense, so Carter’s league, which has been in the works for a while now, being the reason for the meeting checks out.
While it remains to be seen what LeBron’s involvement would be, he is known to want to own an NBA team when he retires so it is interesting that he is participating in a meeting for a competing league.
Marcus Smart excited to play with LeBron James on Lakers
One of LeBron James’ new teammates on the Lakers is Marcus Smart, someone who he has competed against for the last decade while the latter was with the Boston Celtics. After battling the all-time scoring leader for so many years, Smart expressed his excitement to finally get to team with him this season.
“I mean, it’s not every day you get to play against, let alone with, one of the greatest players to ever play this game. We all know his IQ in this game is ridiculous, and playing against him, you see it. To be able to see it on the other side, to witness it and benefit from it, instead of him taking me out with it on the defensive end. Just to be able to soak it all in like a sponge is an opportunity that I’m blessed to be able to have.”
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