The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the thick of the race to add LeBron James to a roster that went to the Western Conference Finals just two months ago. One of the major hurdles ahead of them has now been cleared, only increasing their chances at bringing the king home once again.
ESPN's Shams Charania joined Stephen A. Smith on his podcast "Straight Shooter" to discuss the LeBron James sweepstakes, and the conversation turned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brian Windhorst, Charania's coworker at ESPN, is pointing at Cleveland as the frontrunner.
Charania affirmed that reality, and also shared an important piece of information: Donovan Mitchell is excited about playing with LeBron James.
Mitchell needed to accept LeBron
The excitement around LeBron James leaving the Los Angeles Lakers and joining another team has drowned out an important detail. For LeBron to properly integrate onto another championship team and compete for a title, the team and its current stars must be willing for the league's biggest superstar to come on board, stealing spotlight and credit.
That hurdle could doom the Cavaliers, just as it doomed the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron and Luka Doncic said all of the right things publicly, but it was clear that the two stars could not coexist on the same team and thrive together. The Lakers backed Doncic and began building the roster in his image, and that was LeBron's cue to leave.
Or think back to 2017, when Kyrie Irving demanded a trade to go hunt out his own team. His search took him to many stops and led to disaster, but it stemmed from an inability for Kyrie and LeBron to coexist on the same team. If the stars are not willing to pull in the exact same direction and to share the spotlight, it's not going to work.
Those moments when superstars come together and are united with a common goal? That is when something special can occur.
Spida and The King
With Donovan Mitchell on board and excited about playing with LeBron James, the possibility that such a team-up could work goes up exponentially. The Cavaliers' front office can sign LeBron, but if Mitchell is resentful about losing "his team" and sharing the spotlight, it won't work. James knows that, too, so Mitchell's endorsement was likely an important step for his decision to join Cleveland as well.
Free agency is more than a week old, and LeBron has yet to make his decision. It could be days or even weeks more before he does. He may choose to return to the Cavaliers once more, or he may shock everyone and join a different team entirely. If he is truly deciding based on "happiness" and not money, his options are numerous and intriguing.
Cleveland remains the favorite, however, as they can combine contention with the happiness of returning home. And their star player has just signed a long-term contract extension to commit to the franchise and is welcoming LeBron back with open arms.
That could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
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