LeBron James made the decision to return to the Cavaliers last summer to fulfill a promise he made over a decade ago — bringing a championship to the city of Cleveland. He wouldn’t leave his hometown fans high and dry a second time, would he?
The Cavs apparently don’t think so.
Earlier this offseason, LeBron once again signed a two-year deal with a player option that allows him to opt out after the first. He did the same last summer. In addition to assuring he gets his hands on as much of the new television money that is coming to the NBA in the future as possible, that gives James a bargaining chip with the Cavs to make sure they’re assembling a team that satisfies him before he re-signs.
But according to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, the Cavs don’t think LeBron would ever cash in that chip. Thats’s why they’re not overly concerned about Tristan Thompson leaving next summer if he doesn’t get the max contract he is seeking.
“The bigger question is why are the Cavs rolling the dice here when LeBron James can also become a free agent next summer and has already made it clear that he believes Thompson should be a Cav for life,” Bucher said recently. “I’m told that, privately, the Cavaliers are convinced that LeBron cannot afford to break Cleveland’s hearts a second time and leave and, therefore, does not have the leverage that everybody supposes he has in signing short-term deals.”
I concur.
If LeBron wins a championship in Cleveland, it would be one of the greatest redemption stories in sports history. If he leaves again, he will be remembered as a villain.
You think all that “just a kid from Akron” branding LeBron has been doing is an accident? There’s virtually no chance he leaves Cleveland again in the next few years.