Cleveland Cavaliers fans, don't get too excited about a LeBron James reunion next season.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst appeared on ESPN Cleveland radio this week and reminded everyone that the Cavs likely won't have the cap space to afford James.
LeBron James unlikely to sign with Cavaliers for veteran's minimum
Windhorst said that Cleveland could ostensibly offer LeBron a veteran's minimum salary, or something close to that, but why would James leave so much money on the table?
LeBron's basketball value alone is worth more than a vet min, even at 41 years of age, and when you take into account his marketing value on top of that, forget about it.
Speaking of marketing value, there's been a rumor circulating online that James's potential "farewell tour" could net LeBron tens of millions of dollars in television and/or streaming revenue.
Fans have run with this theory, asserting that such a development could allow James to play for less money than he deserves in terms of his NBA salary. This is a shaky proposition at best, and more aligned with fan fiction than any logical idea.
The savvy businessman in LeBron, not to mention his agent, Rich Paul, wouldn't allow for James to play for a small salary; not yet, anyway.
This appears to place an 8-ball in front of the Cavs, who are paying north of $50 million apiece to Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley next season, on top of James Harden ($42.3 million player option, or an extension) and Jarrett Allen ($28 million).
Windhorst astutely noted that Cleveland could move off some of that salary to make room for James, but what would that even look like, trading Mobley? Would that make the Cavs better?
Allen, too, is looking like someone Cleveland should avoid trading, based on his magical chemistry with Harden.
There's so much about a LeBron return that makes sense. The storybook ending. The fact that James would be in a position to contend for a title, more so than he currently is with the Lakers.
But the money factor could end up making this a more far-fetched idea than people realize, unless Koby Altman has some genius idea to make it all work.
Cavaliers fans might want to start opening themselves up to the idea that a LeBron return might actually be counterintuitive. As it stands right now, Cleveland is looking like a bona fide Finals team without any sight of James in the picture.