When you hear the name LeBron James, fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers have a variety of reactions. Some fans love him, and others don’t care much for him after he’s left town twice. And now in the whispers around the NBA and the rumor mill, we are starting to hear that maybe, just maybe James would consider a closing act on his stellar NBA career and return to where it all started.
Recently, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has again suggested that maybe James and the Cavs would consider another reunion in the future, with next offseason as a possibility via unrestricted free agency it seems. Windhorst did not make it seem as if James is planning on a return once again, but he did mention how Cleveland is currently well-positioned to have a bunch of cap space next summer, albeit with that a ways off.
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Additionally, James could potentially just choose to sign a contract extension with the Lakers soon, and Joe Vardon of The Athletic (subscription required) reported how Cleveland is “not proceeding with the intention” of James coming back again. But Windhorst’s comments were noteworthy, and with the ties James has to the Cavs, if he is a free agent next summer, it would definitely be possible, one would have to think.
A lot of things would have to fall into place for such a move but the possibility will exist moving forward it seems, if James doesn’t sign an extension with L.A. soon. There are so many reasons that this type of move by James and Cleveland would make a lot of sense. While the Cavs are building a great team at the moment, adding back a player that has literally had a permanent stay in the NBA Finals would be great for the team.
Let’s take a look at these 3 reasons a return of LeBron James to the Cavaliers once again would be fantastic!
Reason No. 1 to have James return to Cleveland: A return to contention
The Cavs have done a nice job of reloading their team roster these last few seasons after James departed for the Los Angeles Lakers. The nucleus of young talent including Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Lauri Markkanen can’t be undersold. It’s got the team back in contention and is one of the exciting stories of the NBA right now.
Now, we’d have to see as to how things could change if James were to come back again within the roster/cap outlook, however, overall in this sense, the team got to within a game of making it to the playoffs last season and will certainly be vying for a better conference seeding this next season. The team will likely be able to maintain its rising success over the next several seasons with this core of talent and that is very exciting considering how low this franchise had fallen each time James left town.
That first time he left back in 2010 with” The Decision” he bolted to the beaches of Miami and his former team floundered around in his absence. When James returned to Cleveland in 2014 after his Heat tenure, the team excelled once again, culminating in the team winning the NBA Title in 2016.
Some contend now that the team has built a solid framework from the ground up in this latest period since James left and would be better off not having James return to Cleveland another time. The argument goes that if he did return the team would regress and not be as an unselfish team as they present themselves to be at the moment. In other words, it would upset the apple cart and ruin a nice thing the Cavaliers already have going.
While I agree that the team has made enormous progress and could eventually contend for NBA titles, if James wanted to return and end his career here, where it once started, this team would be much closer to those title chances.
James helped win the 2016 NBA Title and I believe it was probably one of his favorite moments of his career. Maybe winning a second title in Cleveland wouldn’t be as memorable or maybe it would? We’ll discuss that point in a moment. Let’s now focus on what James would be able to do if he did return to the Cavaliers in 2023.
Reason No. 2 to have James return to Cleveland: Leadership
Despite the concern of some that the Cavs would lose their current momentum with their young core of players, having James interjected into that group would be fascinating to witness. James has seen it all in the NBA. When he started in Cleveland in 2003, he was a young pup coming out of high school. He was “The Chosen One”. He’s been in the spotlight now for nearly 20 years. Being under constant scrutiny has to be tough, but James has managed to stay above most of it and been a leader to many on and off the court.
James has led previous Cavs teams in ways that most of us can’t even comprehend completely, and he was otherworldly in that 2016 NBA Finals comeback, alongside Kyrie Irving and others. His skill set has been such, that he has literally willed his team to wins as he’s carried them time and time again. He’s been to 10 NBA Finals, eight of those were in a row between 2011 and 2018. He’s won four Finals in all. James knows what it takes to reach the very top.
The current Cavs organization would be silly not to consider bringing James back to Cleveland, especially if there was interest on the part of James to return. I have to imagine James has kicked around the idea a time or two in recent times.
His current Lakers team is a mess. They seem to be floundering themselves. It’s a bit surprising considering the success that James has provided to so many teams over the years. Obviously, James is going into the latter stages of his career on the court and isn’t in his prime, but James is still good enough to get teams to more NBA Championships.
The Cavs would be getting the best player and biggest leader of a team in James and that would lead to great things and a more likely run at winning another NBA title, or perhaps a couple.
Reason No. 3 to have James return to Cleveland: Legacy
James has been to 10 NBA Finals over his legendary career to this point. From 2011 to 2018 he went to eight straight championships. He has won four titles to this point. The comparisons to the great Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls are always there. Will James overtake Jordan’s claim as being the best ever in the NBA?
Jordan won six NBA titles with the Bulls. James is stuck at four. What could put James over the top would be if he returned to the team that originally drafted him way back in 2003 and win a few titles on his way out the door of the NBA.
James is an iconic figure and still the most admired sports athlete here in Northeastern Ohio. He will forever be remembered for that 2016 NBA Championship.
Let’s add another note here about James’ own children and his eldest Bronny James. Bronny is entering his last season of high school. He will go onto play collegiately for a year or maybe, in theory, attend the NBA G League but once he gets drafted in the NBA, the elder James has already reportedly stated that he wants to play seemingly a year or two with his son.
Enter the Cavs organization and can they work their magic to bring Bronny to Cleveland?
What a very fitting way for the elder James to go out in the NBA with one last year in a Cavalier uniform along the side of his son decked out in the Wine and Gold as well.
That’d be something out of a movie, huh?