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.

Brian Windhorst said on ESPN Cleveland that the superstar and the Lakers are "beginning to move apart" and that this is the beginning of the end of his time with the franchise (h/t Lakers Daily ).