If the greatest player in your franchise's history — and arguably of all time across the entire NBA — wants to do a victory lap with your team, it is tough to say no. The Cleveland Cavaliers are not about to refuse a LeBron James reunion if the all-time great wants to wrap up his legendary career in Ohio. However, they would be accepting more problems than they would like to admit to with the move.
A lot has been made of the offensive fit with James potentially returning to the Cavaliers. Who controls the rock? Can Kenny Atkinson balance the lineups to give Cleveland enough shooting on the floor with regularity?
Just as important would be addressing the awkward fit on defense. Would the Cavaliers really start LeBron alongside Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen? If the answer to that is yes, they have an uphill battle in defending the perimeter.
Who would even serve as the Cavaliers' primary point of attack defender between the three perimeter starters in that lineup? With all due respect to James, Mitchell, and Harden, none of the options there are good ones.
James slotting in among Allen, Mobley, Mitchell, Harden would be a defensive nightmare
It is tough to see how that five-man combination could consistently work as the lineup expected to garner the majority of Cavaliers minutes next season. They would be begging for teams to light them up on the perimeter.
The Cavaliers were already one of the worst teams at defending the 3-point shot last season. Cleveland gave up 37.2 percent from beyond the arc in 2025-26, tied for 26th in the NBA. That came on 14.2 opponent's 3-point field goals made, which was also tied for 26th.
Running a perimeter defense featuring Harden, Mitchell, and James for significant stretches is inviting those problems, and more, to continue in Cleveland. The Cavaliers defense would collapse in a heartbeat with no concrete point of attack defender among the three.
Even if Atkinson deploys a scheme where they are funneling defenders inside to Mobley and Allen for clean-up duty, that does not eliminate those problems. The vulnerabilities would remain all the same.
Atkinson would seriously need to evaluate what his main lineup would be if he wants to eliminate the overwhelming defensive concerns.
Does Allen get demoted to the bench so James can slide up to the four and a better perimeter defender can join the starters? Can Atkinson perhaps sell Harden on the idea of being the primary guard off the bench for a similar purpose?
Who would this great savior for the perimeter defense even be? Would the Cavaliers bank on Jaylon Tyson taking that type of leap for next season?
The Cavaliers were a middle of the pack defense in 2025-26 (15th in the NBA). They ranked 12th out of 16 playoff teams when the postseason rolled around. Adding James fixes none of that, especially with the offseason departures of Dean Wade and Keon Ellis.
A feel-good moment involving a storybook reunion could prove just as satisfying to opposing team's perimeter stars if the Cavaliers and James join forces once more.
Add us as a preferred source on Google