“Once he got to a place to where he said, ‘Listen, …

That did not immediately mean he was leaving the Lakers. Paul said that several weeks earlier, James still gave his chances of returning to Los Angeles at around 80%. But that number continued to drop as the offseason moved along. Eventually, James reached a firm conclusion. “Once he got to a place to where he said, ‘Listen, man, I understand where things are, and I get it. I know that’s where I could probably make the most money. But for me, where I’m at today, it’s probably not the best thing for me to do,'” Paul said.

Advertisement

That did not immediately mean he was leaving the Lakers. Paul said that several weeks earlier, James still gave his chances of returning to Los Angeles at around 80%. But that number continued to drop as the offseason moved along. Eventually, James reached a firm conclusion. “Once he got to a place to where he said, ‘Listen, man, I understand where things are, and I get it. I know that’s where I could probably make the most money. But for me, where I’m at today, it’s probably not the best thing for me to do,'” Paul said.

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: “Once he got to a place to where he said, ‘Listen, …