Croatian forward Mario Hezonja has activated the NBA buyout clause in his Real Madrid contract and is expected to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to a report from Basketball Sphere that hinges on an unverified claim about LeBron James’ free-agency destination.
Hezonja informed Real Madrid he would pay the €850,000 buyout and return to the NBA after multiple seasons in Europe. The Spanish club expressed dissatisfaction over the payment delay, and Basketball Sphere reported that the NBA was preparing an investigation into whether Hezonja might sign a short-term deal, get released, and then choose a new EuroLeague destination — a loophole the league wanted to close before it could be exploited.
His agent, Misko Raznatovic, posted one of his trademark cryptic riddles on X on July 24, 2026:
“The Republic of Dubrovnik and its citizens have always been known for their trading mentality. Centuries have passed, things have changed, and now that mentality has somehow become knightly, equestrian…”
Hezonja is a Dubrovnik native. The “knightly, equestrian” reference, Basketball Sphere argues, points to the Cavaliers — whose identity is built around horsemen. The interpretation is plausible. It is also, at this point, the interpretation of a single outlet.
The report’s structural problem is its dependency on a claim no major news organization has confirmed: that LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers “several hours ago,” which would have freed Cleveland’s cap space to pursue Hezonja. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this week that the Sixers, Cavaliers, and Miami Heat comprise the “inner circle” of favorites for James, but added that a decision “isn’t expected soon,” according to Liberty Ballers. The Sixers, after splitting their midlevel exception between Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons and using biannual exception money on Ariel Hukporti, can offer James only the $3.9 million veterans minimum, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
In other words, the linchpin of the Hezonja-to-Cleveland story — LeBron choosing Philly — is reported as a done deal by Basketball Sphere and as an open question by everyone else with a microphone.
If the cap-space domino does fall the way Basketball Sphere describes, the basketball fit is straightforward. Hezonja was the fifth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic and also played for the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers before heading overseas. Across 330 NBA appearances, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds — numbers that won’t make anyone forget their name, but a 6-foot-8 wing with EuroLeague seasoning and a buyout already triggered is a different animal than the 20-year-old who couldn’t crack Orlando’s rotation.
Hezonja’s return to the NBA has been brewing. The destination, per one outlet’s reading of one agent’s riddle, is Cleveland. Whether the Cavaliers actually have the cap room to sign him depends on a LeBron James decision that — despite Basketball Sphere’s assertion — the rest of the basketball world is still waiting on.