LeBron James joining Lakers

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – LeBron James is to join the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-year $154-million deal, his agents said Sunday, ending months of frenzied speculation about the NBA superstar's next career move.

The blockbuster contract means the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player – who has played in the past eight NBA Finals – will now join one of the league's most iconic clubs, adding to the legacy of such legends as Kobe Bryant and Magic

Johnson.

“LeBron James, four time NBA MVP, three-time NBA finals MVP, 14-time NBA All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medallist, has agreed to a four-year $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers,” James' management company Klutch Sports Group said in a statement.

James is considered a rival of retired Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan for the title of greatest player in NBA history.

However, he had endured frustration with the Cleveland Cavaliers, culminating in this season's clean sweep defeat to the Golden State Warriors in last month's NBA finals.

James and the Cavaliers had been beaten in three out of four NBA Finals against the Warriors since 2015.

James, who has a home and production company in Los Angeles, joins a team with plenty of money to spend under the NBA salary cap and a desire to rebuild into a championship team after years of struggles.

The Cavaliers also tried to keep James, reportedly being on the phone with him seconds after midnight Sunday as the free agency period opened.

The Philadelphia 76ers, whose young star Ben Simmons has the same agent as James, were also in the hunt, hoping to build a potential triple threat alongside the Australian and Cameroon forward Joel Embiid.

James, a two-time Olympic champion, left Cleveland before in 2010 for the Miami Heat, where he reached the NBA Finals four times, going 2-2, before departing for the Cavaliers, vowing to bring a title to Cleveland, his home region having grown up in nearby Akron. ‘This will always be home’ That mission was accomplished when the Cavaliers won the 2016 crown with James in the starring role as Cleveland celebrated a sports champion for the first time in 52 years.

“Thank you Northeast Ohio for an incredible 4 seasons. This will always be home,” James posted on Instagram with a photo of the Cavaliers' championship parade.

But the Warriors obtained Kevin Durant after that loss and Golden State has gone 8-1 against the Cavs in the two NBA Finals since.

“To be able to be a part of a championship team two years ago with the team that we had and in the fashion that we had is something I will always remember,” James said after the Cavs' last loss of the finals.

James informed the Cavaliers on Friday that he would not exercise his $35.6 million contract option.

And he also snubbed what could have been the most money and longest deal available, the Cavaliers being able to extend James a five-year contract worth $209 million.

But money and years of security were less a concern than being able to play for a title contender.

The Lakers can offer top money plus talent and draft picks in order to surround James with competitive players enough to challenge the Warriors, who suddenly must contend with James as a Pacific division rival rather than a foe to be faced only twice a season and for the NBA title.

The Lakers have reportedly been in talks with San Antonio for unhappy star Kawhi Leonard.

And while such big names as Chris Paul of Houston and Paul George of Oklahoma City have agreed to terms to stay with their teams, nothing can be signed until Friday -- leaving lots of time for players to consider what sort of situation the Lakers with James could offer.

Hollywood delight Hollywood rolled out the red carpet for James on Sunday as the basketball superstar confirmed his blockbuster move to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Tinseltown celebrities and Lakers legends expressed delight at news of the deal while NBA rivals digested a move that sent the odds on a Los Angeles revival next season tumbling.

Lakers icon Kobe Bryant was among the first to congratulate James on his four-year, $154 million deal.

“Welcome to the family @KingJames,” Bryant wrote on Twitter. “#lakers4life #striveforgreatness”

The Lakers have not made the NBA playoffs for five straight years, the longest streak of futility in franchise history.

But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the sixtime NBA champion who was part of the Lakers dynasty through the 1980s, expressed hope that James's arrival signaled a change in fortunes.

“I am sure the Lakernation is rejoicing,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Twitter. “The acquisition of LeBron James means that the Lakers are just a smidgen away from being real contenders.”

That belief appeared to be shared by Las Vegas oddsmakers, who rapidly installed the Lakers as contenders for next season's NBA crown.

The odds on the Lakers lifting the NBA title in James' first season fell to 7-2 on Sunday on the Westgate SuperBook following a flurry of betting.

Only the reigning champion Golden State Warriors are ahead of the Lakers in the betting.

Rival NBA players appeared to have been shocked by the move. “Damn,” was the one-word verdict of Golden State's Nick Young.

Milwaukee Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe meanwhile added: “Didn't see that one coming.”

ESPN analyst Adrian Wojnarowski said James' move represented a “seismic shift in the league” which sees him follow in the footsteps of Lakers icons such as Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal.

“They all went from the East to the West and all found their way to LA,”Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “In a lot of ways it's the logical next step, maybe the final step, for LeBron James.”

Best player to greatest city

Entertainment industry luminaries, fellow athletes and public figures were also ecstatic.

“LeBron welcome to Los Angeles,” former action hero and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared on Twitter in a video message.

“It's so exciting that you're coming to the city of stars. And you're without going to be the biggest star of all, on the court and off the court. I love it,” Schwarzenegger added.

Hollywood director Ava DuVernay added: “Welcome to LA, @KingJames! You're gonna love my hometown. And we're gonna love you back!”

Iconic Hollywood horror director John Carpenter was similarly impressed. “Staggering news. LeBron James is coming to the Lakers. Sweet Baby Jesus!” Carpenter wrote on Twitter.

Rapper Snoop Dogg wrote simply: “Welcome home @KingJames.”

Model ChrissyTeigen meanwhile gave James some friendly tips to life in Los Angeles.

“Welcome to LA! Friday is sunset rosé, laser facials on Monday,”Teigen wrote.

“The rest of the week is running into people you don't like at Soho House,” she added, referring to a popular celebrity haunt.

Swedish football superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who joined the Los Angeles Galaxy earlier this year, added: “Now LA has a God and a King! Zlatan welcomes @KingJames.”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti meanwhile chimed: “The world's best player comes to the greatest city in the world. Welcome to the @Lakers, @KingJames!”