3 ways the Cleveland Cavaliers can bring LeBron James home this offseason

Weeks after returning to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics, LeBron James' near future has developed with a potential return for the all-time great.

LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul appeared on a TNT broadcast for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals and said that "LeBron is a free agent". However, LeBron James has not accepted or declined his player option yet this offseason. This slip-up by Paul (whether it was intentional or not) has most NBA insiders believing that LeBron James will opt out of his current contract to be a free agent this season.

The most likely scenario is that LeBron will decline his player option and then restructure a new deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Insiders around the league mostly feel that LeBron has no intention of leaving Los Angeles with the life and empire he has built out there. Two of his children, Bryce and Zhuri, are still in school after all - and it doesn't seem too likely that LeBron would want to change his scenery at age 39 just to play for a different team.

Why LeBron might leave the Lakers

However, two things are working towards the theory that LeBron could be on the move. One is that LeBron has publicly said in the past that he would do "whatever it takes" to play with his son in the NBA. In a 2022 interview with The Athletic, LeBron said "My last year will be played with my son," "Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It's not about the money at that point." As it has been highly covered - LeBron's first son, Bronny James Jr. has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. Does LeBron still feel the way he felt in 2022? If so - he could very easily be on the move to follow whatever franchise drafts his son.

As Bronny got older and closer to joining the league, this type of talk slowed down. More recent reporting has refuted this original claim, and it seems plausible as Bronny has made no claims to want to play with his father. Shams Charania has reported that LeBron will not leave the Lakers solely to go team up with Bronny.

The other possible reason for LeBron to depart from Los Angeles would be for a better chance at winning another championship. It's no secret that LeBron considers himself the greatest of all time, but he also knows that debate is still up in the air for many others. Winning a fifth NBA Championship would do a lot to help his resume to go along with his two decades of dominance.

Cleveland would be an enticing option for LeBron James. Moving back to the Eastern Conference would be wise, as the Western Conference has become incredibly competitive with the emergence of teams like the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks. Pairing with Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley would give LeBron a great chance to come out of the Eastern Conference and have a chance to play for a title.

LeBron has also stated in his past that he would like to finish his career in Cleveland. Again, this is an older quote, but LeBron rarely makes such bold claims, usually speaking in a cryptic way and keeping everyone on their toes. When LeBron spoke with Sports Illustrated in 2014 in the groundbreaking article announcing he was coming back to Cleveland, LeBron said "I always believed that I’d return to Cleveland and finish my career there." He left four years later, so that statement may have no merit at all. But you have to believe that LeBron would have to be tempted to come back and finish his career in Cleveland - after all, no city loves and embraces him more than his hometown.

If LeBron were to decide to come back to Cleveland one more time; here are the four possible ways that could be done.