The future of LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers has been in question since he picked up his player option with the team for this season, and most recently, reports linking the league’s all-time leading scorer back to his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, have only intensified in the past few weeks.
Recently, NBA insiders Shams Charania and Jake Fischer have both said that they expect this to be James’s last season with the Lakers, and at the same time, links between him and the Cavaliers seem to be growing. Upon his recent return to Cleveland for a game, Dave McMenamin reported the team would be open to a return in the final chapter of his career.
Now, according to Kendrick Perkins speaking on his podcast, Road Trippin’ Show, both Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, the Cavs’ new star duo, are reportedly recruiting James to join them next season.
“I’m just telling you my sources tell me. Soon as James Harden got on the phone or got around the team we about to make this run,
James will be a free agent this summer, and despite all the speculation, he has yet to comment about his next move publicly.
LeBron James Cavaliers Return Rumors Are Growing
Perkins’ comments about both Mitchell and Harden recruiting James back to his former team are not the first time this rumor has popped up.
In a recent article by Ashish Mathur of CavaliersNation, he reported the news a few days ago.
“All-Star guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden are expected to recruit LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the offseason, sources told Cavaliers Nation,” he wrote. “James becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason for the first time since 2018. If the future Hall of Famer doesn’t retire from the NBA, the Cavaliers are expected to heavily pursue James in free agency, sources said.”
Additionally, Jason Lloyd of The Athletic said on a radio appearance that he also believes a James return to Cleveland could very well be in the cards.
📞@ByJasonLloyd thinks LeBron’s only option next season is in Cleveland
“If (LeBron) plays anywhere next year it’s gonna be here. He’s not going back to LA,” he said on 92.3 The Fan. “I also don’t think he’s gonna take the league minimum deal, so they’re gonna have to work through that.”
The Cavaliers made a few trade deadline deals to get under the second apron, meaning James would have to sign a minimum deal both for him to join the team and for them to have enough cap space to keep their current roster, and potentially add more talent. However, despite his massive amount of career earnings, that might not be so easy.
”I don’t think he is going to take a league minimum from [owner] Dan [Gilbert],” Lloyd continued. “Find a way to get to the mid-level [exception], have to get under the [second] apron, there’s other conversations that have to be had.”
Cleveland is also rumored to be in the hunt for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer, but the possibility of the franchise having him, Mitchell, Harden, Evan Mobley, and James is very unlikely.
LeBron James Retirement Rumors
At the same time the reports linking James to the Cavaliers have surfaced, there have been similar rumors about him potentially ending his career after this season. He is the oldest player in the league, has set numerous untouchable league records, and has little yet to accomplish, outside of catching up to Michael Jordan’s six NBA Finals wins.
Over the past few weeks, James has hinted that the end is near as it relates to his time in the professional ranks, yet still, no decision or announcement has been made.
Writing for CBS Sports, insider Sam Quinn does not think James will quietly end his career.
“Does LeBron James seem like the sort of player who would go out quietly following an early playoff exit?” he asked. “Of course not. He’d want a retirement tour. He’d want a year of genuflection.”
Quinn added that he predicts James will return to Cleveland instead of continuing with the Lakers or entering retirement.
In a recent article, McMenamin also said that the evidence is mounting for a potential James retirement after this season.
“Just look at the clues. James is in the final year of his contract. His longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN over the summer that James didn’t ask for an extension with the Lakers,” McMenamin wrote. “We could also be looking ahead at the last 50 or so regular-season games that James has left in him.”
What James will do next is still up in the air, and likely will be until he announces his plans himself. Yet still, the continuous links back to Cleveland are only growing, as that would be a storybook ending to his historic NBA career.
LeBron James Cavaliers Return Intensifies Amid Crumbling Lakers Future: Report