LeBron James opting out of his contract with Miami Heat

I'm not going to lie, as a basketball fanatic, I didn't pay attention to the NBA until it was Game 3 of the finals. I have my reasons, but I won't go into to that right now. But, all eyes are on the biggest star in the league in LeBron James. After losing in finals to the most underappreciated team in the league, LeBron is now opting out of his contract with the Heat. Though it is believed that he will stay with the team, many speculate that there may be a sequel to his 2010 'The Decision'. Time will tell. ESPN reports:

LeBron James' agent Rich Paul has informed the Miami Heat that the four-time NBA MVP will exercise his early termination option and become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

James had until June 30 to decide whether to opt out of the final two years of his contract with Miami. He was scheduled to make $20 million next season and had two years and about $42.7 million remaining on his deal.

"I was informed this morning of his intentions. We fully expected LeBron to opt out and exercise his free-agent rights, so this does not come as a surprise," Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement. "As I said at the press conference last week, players have a right to free agency and, when they have these opportunities, the right to explore their options.

If James departs, he would be leaving a historic opportunity on the table. Only one team in NBA history has appeared in at least five consecutive NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics, who reached 10 straight from 1957 to 1966.

With James and Carmelo Anthony officially opting out of their contracts, multiple teams -- including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks and Lakers -- have begun the process of exploring roster moves that would create sufficient salary-cap space to sign 2014's marquee free agents in tandem, sources close to the situation told ESPN.com.

Meanwhile, the other two Miami stars with early termination options -- Wade and Bosh -- have not yet told the Heat or publicly revealed whether they will join James as free agents this summer.