Bronny James might not be paying much attention to the noise around his dad’s future, but maybe he should lend an ear to Alan Hahn. Then again, Hahn himself might want to listen back to what Alan Hahn had to say, because he’s already talking in circles about LeBron James.
LeBron opted into his $52.6 million player option late last week and, in classic LeBron James fashion, is said to be monitoring the Lakers’ moves. It’s the all-too-familiar dance of passive-aggressive leverage and public silence. The Lakers want to act like they’re all in. LeBron wants to see if they actually are.
And sure, as Jemele Hill pointed out, this could all be LeBron doing LeBron, generating empty calorie headlines for sports media fodder during a relatively bland free agency cycle. But the chess clock is ticking, and Hahn’s out here double-dog daring James to make the first move.
This is the same Hahn who, just days ago, dismissed the idea of LeBron to the Knicks as fantasy, only to walk it back on his Don, Hahn & Rosenberg ESPN Radio show the following day. He admitted he was too quick to rule out a potential power play from LeBron, especially after the Lakers’ idea of a “splash” move was DeAndre Ayton.
Hahn says a friend in the league texted him, then called him, urging him to reconsider the idea that LeBron’s interest in the Knicks was just a leverage ploy. The Knicks weren’t ready before, sure. But now? They just might be. And if LeBron is serious about competing for a title right now, the landscape has shifted.
So Hahn grabbed his lunch pail and took the thought to Thursday’s Get Up, throwing the gauntlet down for LeBron.
“Again, I go back to the statement that Rich Paul said, when he talked about wanting to have a team that can compete for a championship,” said Hahn. “…This could be a farewell tour. So, put all that stuff together, and you have to think, where is the fastest, easiest path to the NBA Finals for LeBron James? It’s the place he’s avoided his entire career. That’s right, everybody, it’s right here in New York.
“I dare him, I double dog dare him. If you really, really believe in all the words you’re saying right there, the one place that you know you could go, all you have to do is say it — sing it if you want, like Sinatra: New York, New York. If he does that, that’s a gigantic narrative that you know he loves. They all love being part of the story. And it’s a place that you could say, if he comes here, there’s a path to the NBA Finals.”
ESPN’s Alan Hahn dares LeBron James to join the Knicks.
“I dare him, I double dog dare him. If you really really believe in all the words you’re saying right there, the one place that you know you could go, all you have to do is say it — sing it if you want, like Sinatra: New… pic.twitter.com/KuGItiMKPe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2025
Naturally, the rest of Thursday’s Get Up panel pumped the brakes.
LeBron has a full no-trade clause. He could’ve walked in free agency if he really wanted to test the market. Instead, he locked in the money. And once you take the $52.6 million, as Tim Bontemps noted, that limits your options, especially with the Knicks pressed up against the second apron and unable to move money around.
Would it be fun? Sure. Is it remotely realistic? Not unless LeBron makes the first move, which, again, is the entire point Hahn is trying to make.
To his credit, Hahn clarified: this isn’t about the Knicks making a pitch. It’s about whether LeBron would ever put himself in that position. Whether he’d choose to write that chapter of the story.
To be clear, this is about LeBron making the first move, not the Knicks pursuing him! https://t.co/7V8xoGOrbP
— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) July 3, 2025
If we’re playing in fantasy land, as Tim MacMahon added, why not Cleveland, too?
But the truth is, this comes down to LeBron. Always has. Always will.