On paper, the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James are an obvious fit. A homecoming would be a perfect ending to his movie-like career, won't hurt his legacy, and will give him a fair shot at winning another ring before riding into the sunset.
Likewise, the Cavaliers desperately need a leader like LeBron James. He comes with plenty of baggage, drama, and attention, but he's also a proven winner who has been there, done that, and can still instill fear in the opposition's heart.
Nevertheless, the Cavs can't ignore the elephant in the room if James returns. They already had some spacing issues, and adding another ball-dominant non-shooter to the mix may not help them in the slightest in that regard.
The Cavs will need to get shooters around LeBron James
Kenny Atkinson's team already struggled with floor spacing with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Mobley has shown some promise with his jump shot, but he's been in the league for a while now, so he's more likely closer to a finished product; they can't bank all hopes on him suddenly figuring things out. As for Allen, that's just not gonna happen.
James has never been more than a streaky shooter, and he didn't seem to have the same lift last season. He's a career 34.8 percent shooter from beyond the arc, and he knocked down just 31.7 percent of his 4.1 attempts per game last season.
Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean the Cavs should sound the alarm on giving up their pursuit of James. However, as always happens whenever James switches teams -- and as they've discovered firsthand -- they will have to make extensive moves to surround him with the supporting cast he needs.
Despite their lack of spacing in the frontcourt, Atkinson's Cavaliers still attempted the seventh-most three-pointers in the game last season, and they knocked them down at the 13th-best clip (36.0 percent).
That said, it's hard to believe Jaylon Tyson will continue to shoot nearly 45 percent from three with more minutes, not to mention that Dean Wade, Darius Garland, and Keon Ellis are no longer on the team, and that Max Strus might be the odd man out if the Cavs bring back LeBron.
This shouldn't be a deal-breaker, and James should still be this team's No. 1 offseason priority. Still, the job will be far from done if (when) they bring him back home, and they'll need some sharpshooters to maximize their title window while it's still open.
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