OK. So here's what happened.
At 12:42pm on Wednesday afternoon, Chris Sheridan tweeted the following:
NBA source said today: "This will be LeBron's final season in Cleveland. He is 100 percent leaving. Relationship with owners beyond repair."— Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) August 16, 2017
About 35 minutes later, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com weighed in:
For what it's worth (damn it, I'm on vacation), three sources close to LeBron said this latest tweet about him is 100 percent false— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 16, 2017
Sports
I have more: three sources paid particular attention to LeBron's relationship with ownership, and said LeBron does not view it that way— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 16, 2017
And finally, one of the sources close to LeBron said there is no NBA source who could speak on his behalf in the way it was reported— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 16, 2017
You probably already know this, but LeBron James can opt out of his contract next summer and become a free agent.
After the Cavs won the title in 2016, he signed a three-year deal worth $99,857,127 -- which included a player option in Year 3.
Since the moment the Warriors beat Cleveland in this year's Finals (and even before that really), people have been speculating about LeBron's future.
There are many in NBA circles who believe he will be rocking a Lakers uniform in 2018-19.
Then of course there's the whole "Kyrie Irving wants to be traded because he doesn't want to play with LeBron anymore" variable.
And if you're thinking to yourself, "The Cavs should trade LeBron instead of Kyrie," that's not really possible because LeBron possesses a no-trade clause.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on Tuesday:
As the Cleveland Cavaliers deliberate on deals to move All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, the franchise is operating under a self-prescribed mandate: presume a future without LeBron James.
The Cavs aren't giving up on the possibility of re-signing James next summer, but they are no longer investing blind faith in the hope he will stay.
Needless to say, the next 11 months are going to be a roller coaster...
Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders and a Web Producer at NBC Sports Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller
