The Cleveland Cavs drafted LeBron James back in 2003, and then he would leave the team some years later to win a few titles with the Miami Heat.
Once that was over, LeBron would announce his return back to the team that featured star point guard Kyrie Irving and soon with Kevin Love after the team traded for him. After a couple Finals appearances and a win in 2016, LeBronwould and sign with the Lakers as his old franchise would suffer without him on the roster for a second time.
Those days finally appear to be over as the team has an assortment of talent that needs a one or two more pieces to become a real threat. That could be LeBron….or not. While James told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic that he hasn’t ruled out a future return to Cleveland, the feeling from the Cavs’ end might not be mutual.
Substack’s Marc Stein released a podcast revealing that while James might have interest in a return to Northeast Ohio, the Cavs might not ultimately be interested in such a reunion.
“In conversations that I’ve had with people in Cleveland, I think it’s just assumed that the Cavs would jump at the chance to get LeBron back,” Stein said. “And I really don’t think that’s the case.”
This speculation about returning home comes amid a season in which the Cavs have emerged as one of the NBA’s most promising young teams, while the Lakers are an extreme disaapointment and have thus far fallen short of their championship contender expectations.
Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and current Rookie of the Year frontrunner in Evan Mobley are primed and ready to do something special, but the team might want to continue to build on it instead of bringing back their best player in franchise history.
