For a player whose next move remains one of the biggest unanswered questions of the NBA offseason, it did not take much to send speculation into overdrive. All it took was a title, a date and an official team YouTube channel. The Miami Heat briefly had a scheduled livestream titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” carrying a July 27 date before it was quickly removed.

Miami moved quickly to pour cold water on what fans thought they had discovered. The organization explained that the material had been prepared for the possibility of James signing with the Heat and was made public by mistake, with the team maintaining that it was not evidence of an impending announcement. But not everyone was ready to dismiss the specificity of what had appeared.

ESPN’s Chris Canty was not convinced the whole thing could be brushed aside so easily. “They might’ve been premature, but I don’t think this was altogether out of left field. Somebody in the Heat organization knew something,” Canty said on UNSPORTSMANLIKE. “So much so they had the link prepared even if they didn’t mean to post it. What’s interesting is we actually have a timeline.”

Canty then zeroed in on the date itself. “July 27th is the day that everybody now will default to and say we’re probably going to have a decision by then because of what the social media team for the Miami Heat did,” he continued. “Just so happens to be a day before the Dallas Cowboys report to training camp. So LeBron James, with all of your attention, making sure his decision doesn’t get washed out by the NFL and people start to get excited about football.”

Canty’s suspicion rests on two details: that Miami had already prepared the asset and that it carried a specific date. His NFL comparison goes a step further, suggesting July 27 could give a James announcement a cleaner window before football begins consuming more of the national sports conversation. But Canty stopped short of claiming Miami deliberately published the link or that James and the Heat had coordinated an announcement.

That theory runs into one significant obstacle: James’ own camp has publicly resisted attempts to put a clock on his decision. With the 41-year-old still an unrestricted free agent after deciding not to return to the Lakers, Rich Paul has maintained that there is no predetermined timetable. “We’re not going to be rushed. It’s his choice to make, and when he makes the choice, he’ll make it,” Paul said.

Miami is not an arbitrary destination in the speculation. James spent four seasons with the Heat and won two championships there, while credible reporting has placed Miami among the teams interested in him this summer. Still, the YouTube mishap does not establish that a reunion is close. The Heat’s explanation was that the material had been prepared for the possibility of James signing—not because an agreement or announcement was already in place.

Paul was even more forceful while pushing back on reports and speculation about an imminent decision during an appearance on Max Kellerman’s Game Over podcast. “These people don’t know anything,” Paul said. “I don’t know when his choice is going to be made, but it could be 48 seconds [from now]. It could be 48 minutes. I don’t know. Again, you can’t make somebody know something that they don’t know.”

That leaves July 27 in an unusual place: specific enough to invite questions, but unsupported as James’ actual deadline. Canty believes Miami’s preparation suggests someone inside the organization knew more than a simple mistake would indicate. The Heat says it was preparing only for a possibility, while Paul insists even he does not know when James will decide. Until James makes that choice, the date remains more clue than confirmation.