The NBA rumor mill is spinning hard right now, but one name keeps coming up when league executives talk about where LeBron James might land this summer. And it’s not a place that makes other teams feel great.
Brian Windhorst, ESPN’s longtime LeBron watcher, has been making the rounds and picking up chatter from front offices around the league. What he’s hearing is fairly consistent. Teams are bracing for the possibility that James heads back to Cleveland for a third stint.
“I’ve talked to people in Philly, and I’m like, what do you think? ‘We’re afraid it’s Cleveland.’ Everybody I talked to is like ‘we’re afraid it’s Cleveland.’ Nobody seems like they have optimism,” Windhorst said on ESPN Cleveland.
The Cavs just got bounced from the Eastern Conference Finals by the Knicks, who went on to win the title. It was an ugly exit too. Cleveland coughed up a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and never recovered, getting swept in four straight. But the core is young and talented. Adding LeBron to that group while keeping guys like Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley in place would patch up their biggest weakness — wing play — immediately.
James has already told the Lakers he won’t be back in Los Angeles next season, according to reports. That much seems settled. The question now is where he goes. Cleveland is the one that has rival execs worried, but it’s not the only option.
Miami made a splash by acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Heat are in the mix. So are the Golden State Warriors, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Philadelphia 76ers, who just traded for Jaylen Brown. Each of those teams could make a compelling pitch.
LeBron’s history with Cleveland runs deep. He was drafted there 23 years ago, returned in 2014 after his Miami run, and delivered that long-awaited championship in 2016. Another homecoming would be a hell of a story, even if it’s starting to feel like a predictable one.
The next few days should be interesting as James weighs his options. Nobody outside of his camp really knows which way he’s leaning. But the rest of the league is watching closely, and some of them are already preparing for the worst.
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