The 2025 offseason may not have included any ground-shaking moves by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but there is no shortage of LeBron James rumors surrounding the franchise.
Long story short, though, James is not returning this summer regardless of any social media posturing. A report named the Cavs as an interested party, contacting LeBron's long-time agent Rich Paul about a potential deal. James, owed more than $50 million this season, would cost the Cavaliers roughly $70 million in a trade in order to shed enough salary to drop below the second apron and be able to process a James trade.
There is technically a path to landing LeBron, but it would require a seismic shift in the core four - something the Cavs don't seem interested in rushing.
Instead, Damian Lillard's storybook homecoming with the Portland TrailBlazers could be the blueprint for a final ride with King James in The Land. After two uneventful seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Lillard was gifted the perfect exit from a team he never seemed happy to join. Following an Achilles tear sidelining him for next season, the Bucks made the audacious move to waive and stretch Lillard's remaining $103 million and make him a free agent.
Though numerous contending teams contacted Dame, he chose to return to the franchise that loves him most, signing a three-year, $42 million contract with the Blazers. If LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers tenure is truthfully coming to an end before he retires, Lillard just paved the way for a historic conclusion to James' career.
LeBron could return to the Cavaliers in 2026
For the first time in LeBron's career, he is not the focal point of his team's present and future. The Los Angeles Lakers are pivoting to a Luka Doncic future, potentially viewing James as an expiring contract more than a core piece for the 2026-27 season. Despite his age, the 40-year-old superstar could still be a star player of a contending team beyond this season, but he likely will not do it with the Lakers.
Although the Cavaliers have no realistic path to acquiring James this season, there is a very clear argument that next offseason is the perfect time for a second homecoming. LeBron's hometown Cavaliers are the premier franchise in the Eastern Conference, but continued postseason embarrassments make James the perfect superstar leader to bring home another title to Cleveland.
The route to signing LeBron is not as simple as the Portland-Dame situation. The Cavaliers are a ridiculously expensive team, and the new luxury tax penalties would only allow Cleveland to offer James a veteran minimum contract. Even if James is open to taking a pay cut to come home, a minimum deal is not happening. As a second apron team, Cleveland also cannot receive James in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers.
A James homecoming may still cost the Cavaliers quite a lot to open up enough salary to sign him to a sizable deal, but any non-max contract with James is a bargain.
What Lillard showed this offseason is that the grass is not always greener. Though James won a championship with the Lakers in 2020, the Cavaliers have made far more significant strides and enjoyed more growth as a franchise overall than Los Angeles. If LeBron can learn anything from Damian Lillard, it is that a storybook ending to a historic career is worth a smaller short-term salary.
LeBron James is not one to shy away from a great storyline. He returned to Cleveland after four years with the Miami Heat once the Cavs added a new All-Star in Kyrie Irving. If one star teammate was enough to lead James back to town, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley are more than enough. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the perfect landing spot for LeBron's final NBA years, and next season is the best time to make it a reality.