Should basketball fans prepare themselves for The Return of the King: Part II?
In an interview with The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd, Lakers star LeBron James didn’t shut down the idea that he could rejoin the Cavaliers before the end of his NBA career. The four-time MVP, who played for the Cavs from 2003-2010 and 2014-18, told Lloyd “the door’s not closed” on a return to Cleveland.
NBA LEAGUE PASS: Sign up to unlock live out-of-market games (7-day free trial)
“I’m not saying I’m coming back and playing, I don’t know,” James said ahead of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, which will be held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. “I don’t know what my future holds. I don’t even know when I’m free.”
James’ current contract with the Lakers runs through the 2022-23 season. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2023, which could allow him to negotiate a deal with the franchise that selected him No. 1 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Rumors about a potential James-Cavaliers reunion will only continue to intensify as long as the Lakers struggle and Cavaliers rise. Los Angeles entered the All-Star break with a 27-31 record, sitting at No. 9 in the Western Conference. Cleveland, meanwhile, is 35-23, less than three games behind the top-seeded Heat in the Eastern Conference standings.
James, whose Lakers failed to make a move before this year’s trade deadline, was highly complimentary of Cavs general manager Koby Altman’s roster-building moves since James left for Los Angeles in 2018.
“I think Koby and those guys have done an unbelievable job drafting and making trades,” James said. “I think [Jarrett Allen], that acquisition was amazing for them to make that trade. Obviously Darius Garland is a big-time player. And I think the role that Kevin [Love] is playing right now has kind of uplifted those young guys, seeing a veteran that could sacrifice, a champion that’s won a championship, all the things that he’s done, to come off the bench and play this role.
“I am not surprised by anything that they’re doing right now.”
MORE: Watch the NBA All-Star Game live with Sling TV (3-day free trial)
While James doesn’t know if he will ultimately end up back in Cleveland, he was certain about one thing. He will play with his son, Bronny, before he retires.
“My last year will be played with my son,” James said. “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.”
Bronny, a 17-year-old guard for the Sierra Canyon School boys basketball team, won’t be draft-eligible until 2024. That would leave LeBron with a gap year between contracts, though he has previously signed one-plus-one deals (one guaranteed year followed by a player option).
Could LeBron agree to a short-term deal with the Cavaliers, then find his way to Bronny’s team? Would the Cavs risk altering what they’ve built in order to land LeBron? How does Bronny feel about his father’s influence on his future?
With a simple response to Lloyd, LeBron opened up the door to a lot of new questions.