Like sharks sensing a presence in the water, Rich Paul's cryptic statement that accompanied LeBron James' decision to opt in to his $52.6 million salary for next season led some teams to call the Los Angeles Lakers about the four-time NBA MVP's availability.

LeBron is the master of offseason passive-aggressive statements to get his team to spend. This is more of the same.

There is another reason to pass on a James deal. The Knicks' moves last summer cleared out assets, but what they have will need to be held onto tightly right now because of the whispers and theories that Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask out of Milwaukee.