Anna Leigh Waters linked LeBron James to the Trail Blazers at the ESPYs, giving an unexpected twist to a question about where the NBA star might land next. Asked where James would end up, Waters pointed to Portland and then stopped short of saying she knew it would happen.
That remark matters because it came from a name far outside the usual NBA rumor circuit. James H. Williams of reported the exchange from 's Espy Awards, where attendees were asked about James' next stop, and Waters answered with a destination tied to Tom Dundon, the owner of the league in which she plays.
Waters did not present the idea as certainty. She said, “I don’t know,” before adding, “I know the owner of the professional pickleball league just bought the Portland basketball team, the Trail Blazers, and I know he’s trying to get (James), so we’ll see if that happens.” That left the suggestion hanging between possibility and speculation, which is why it drew attention in the first place.
The Trail Blazers link runs through Dundon, who is described as owning the professional pickleball league where Waters competes and as having bought the Portland basketball team. On its face, that makes the comment more than a random guess. It also raises the only question that really matters now: whether there is any real effort behind the rumor or whether Waters was simply repeating the kind of talk that follows James wherever he goes.
For now, the answer is unresolved, and Waters' own words leave it that way. She tied James to Portland, acknowledged the uncertainty, and moved on. If there is anything more than speculation behind the Trail Blazers mention, the next clue will have to come from Dundon, James, or the move itself.
