With the 2022-23 NBA season looming around, thefuture of LeBron James continues to draw a lot of attention. The King has only one year left in his Lakers contract, and it’s unclear whether he plans to sign a new dealsoon.
Having endured two disappointing seasons in Los Angeles,many believe he will make a decision depending on how things play outthis year. Besides one successful campaign in 2020, James struggled to win with the Lakers.
In the event he opts to leave next year, areturn to the Cavaliers could be an optionfor the 18x NBA All-Star before he decides to hang them up. However, it looks like Cleveland would only want a reunion on one condition.
Rumor: Cavs’ condition to reunite with LeBron James, revealed
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Cleveland would bring LeBron back only if it’s on ‘shared terms’. Here’s what he said in an appearanceon The Wine And Gold Talk podcast, via Fadeaway World:
“It was explained to me that a reunion from Cleveland’s side of things would have to be on shared terms… I think it’s going to be more of a, ‘How can we make this work for all of us? How can we be a team? How can we add you to what we’re doing?’”
The Cavaliers seem to be in a good spot right now, with a young core of players that could make them a competitive team in the years to come. Therefore, they’d rather have LeBron adapting to it instead of tailoringthe team around him. However, it’s also believed the Cavs are not interested in a reunion at all.
Cleveland, however, maynot tryto bring LeBron back
Meanwhile, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports that Cleveland is not planning to bring back LeBron Jamesnext year. He also understands that his family would prefer not to leaveLA.
“OK, I have tied myself up in knots enough over this. The Cavs are not proceeding with the intention of getting LeBron for a third time. As a northeast Ohio native who didn’t move when LeBron left for L.A., I am not planning on him coming back, for the reasons stated above. I think family weighs too heavily into this, and the easiest move for him is to stay with the Lakers.“
The Cavs do have a foundation on which to build to become a playoff team in the near future. That being said, having LeBron James on their roster would significantly increase their chances of winning another title. At the end of the day, however, all of this depends on what James ultimately decides about his contract.
