When LeBron James first joined the Lakers in 2018, he had his reasons for doing so. At the tail end of his career, Los Angeles is a place he could thrive on the court while building his empire off the court.
So far, despite the drama, his time as a Laker should be considered a success. He has grown his brand, expanded his image, and has even captured a title in what many believe was the hardest Finals run ever.
With all of that in the past, what comes next for James and the Lakers? According to Brian Windhorst, James is likely to finish out his career with the team — but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be some major competitors along the way.
“I don’t sense that LeBron wants to leave the Lakers,” Windhorst said. “But I would be remiss to not point out that the Cavs have positioned themselves to have huge salary cap space next summer… when LeBron could potentially be a free agent.”
On #ESPNDaily, @WindhorstESPN talks about calling LeBron’s return to Cleveland, two years before it happened. And we get into Collin Sexton’s contract (🤔) and the hidden dynamics of LeBron returning to the Cavs again (again): https://t.co/TPxVh2tB00 pic.twitter.com/FPt9RwpLwv
— Pablo Torre 🕳️ (@PabloTorre) July 21, 2022
The Cavs aren’t the same team LeBron left in 2018. Surprisingly, they have built a very solid young core that secured the East’s 6th seed this season.
The chance to go home and join that young core must be exciting to James, especially if Cleveland can position themselves to bring in his son.
“He loved the talent on the roster,” wrote The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd. “Then I asked if he has considered returning again. After all, this Cavs’ roster is much closer to winning than the roster was the last time he returned in 2014. He laughed and said he hadn’t thought about it, but the more we kept talking, the more he kept opening up. ‘The door’s not closed on that,’ he said of an eventual Cleveland return.”
It’s not impossible that LeBron leaves behind the sunny skies of Los Angeles to reunite with his former team (again) in his home state. You can’t blame him for finding that scenario appealing.
For Lakers fans, it’s still too early to panic. At the very least, there’s a whole season between now and when he might depart as a free agent, and there’s no guarantee he’ll go anywhere at all.
It’s just a waiting game at this point, and we’re all trying to see where the King ends up for his final years in the league.
