Another offseason, another saga of LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers rumors have emerged.
Since James' 2018 exit from the franchise to join the Los Angeles Lakers, Akron's own has been rumored to eye a final homecoming as he reaches the twilight of his historic career. With the Lakers, LeBron led the California franchise to their 17th championship with Anthony Davis in the 2020 playoffs. As the Lakers struggled to maintain a contending roster around James, the franchise pulled off a shocking blockbuster trade to deal James' co-star Davis for Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks.
With a 26-year-old superstar at his side, James has become the second priority for the first time in his career. In response, LeBron picked up his $52.6 million player option to retain his no-trade clause and control his Lakers future. Following his player option decision, his long-time agent Rich Paul released a cryptic statement thanking the Lakers for a long, successful tenure together but indicated James may be willing to force his way to a different team as Los Angeles pivots to focus on the future with Doncic.
Quickly, a potential reunion with Cleveland headlined LeBron rumor mills. The Cavaliers are a perennial Eastern Conference contender but have fallen short in the second round in the last two playoff runs. Adding the greatest player in franchise history back into the mix could shift this Cavs squad from a Finals hopeful to the Finals favorite. Despite the seismic trade necessary to drop the Cavaliers' cap sheet enough to land LeBron, online discussion has not stopped.
LeBron finally comments on the endless rumors
Recently, LeBron's trip back to Ohio has spawned a new wave of trade rumors. From "Welcome Home" hats on Instagram to summer training in Cleveland, James is causing a stir with all Cleveland sports media.
Cavaliers fans know the LeBron James rumor cycle too well, as the four-time NBA champion is no stranger to leveraging a departure against a front office to force win-now moves. The Lakers have become the first team to push back, though, leading to the most tense game of trade chicken James has ever experienced.
Finally, James has weighed in on the countless social media campaigns to find out if James wants to come back to the Cavs. When LeBron's workout with Cavaliers Summer League rookie Denver Jones was posted and quickly aggregated, James set the record straight on the reason behind his public Cleveland homecoming tour. While many believed his workout in Cleveland's training facility was another ploy against the Lakers, James reminded the public he frequently comes back to town.
And every summer since it was built. I live here still and train every summer. Got damn yall bored man! Go get a plate of food somewhere and enjoy the 4th of July!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 4, 2025
Though the original post of James' workout was by The Ball Out Media, James responded to an aggregate account to silence the nonsense. James has routinely returned to Ohio every offseason and trained with the Cavalier youth. Years ago, a photo of LeBron James after a summer workout included none other than beloved former Cavalier Cedi Osman. Also included in the photo was a long line of All-Stars, making Osman's inclusion worth noting.
Still, James has a long-lasting trend of maintaining ties to his home state. His response does not entirely shut down the possibility of a final run with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but his summer Lake Erie vacation is not proof of anything beyond LeBron still loves the city where his NBA career began.