CLEVELAND - LeBron James may be officially tired of rumors surrounding his next NBA contract.
Days after a series of billboards in the Cleveland area pushing for the Cavaliers superstar to leave town for the Philadelphia 76ers this summer in free agency, James was the subject of a Philly report saying he was looking into private schools in the area over the All-Star break.
"I've told this to a few other people, and I have no problem saying this," 76ers TV analyst Alaa Abdelnaby said Tuesday on Philly Sports Talk . "My brother lives in the Philadelphia area and he told me that LeBron, last week through a superintendent, was in the area checking out some private schools during the All-Star break."
Abdelnaby later added that this apparent school search did not guarantee anything and that James may be looking into several communities in other NBA cities for him, his wife and three children.
Later Thursday at the Cavaliers' team shootaround, reporters asked the 33-year-old superstar about the Philly report.
"Pennsylvania? Nah. What are you talking about," he said. "Over the All-Star break, I was on vacation and then went to Los Angeles."
Cleveland.com reports that after the formal media session, James labeled the report "disgusting."
James' denial aside, media and fans have connected the James-to-Philly theory mainly because he shares the same agent (Rich Paul) with rookie 76ers star Ben Simmons, with LeBron publicly complimenting Simmons and All-Star center Joel Embiid on numerous occasions.
James, the three-time NBA champion and four-time Most Valuable Player, owns a $35.6 million player option if he decides to return to Cleveland next season and forego free agency this summer.