LeBron has to go back to Cleveland
Nothing else makes sense.
Nothing else makes sense.
Good morning. It's Free Newsletter Wednesday. Let's basketball.
LeBron James considers himself the greatest player in NBA history, and there is a swath of reasonable fans who agree. On one hand, LeBron – even amid being a dominant force in the league for stretches of three different decades – has always done thing his own way, and received heaps of criticism along the way. From signing a shorter than maximum length deal on his first rookie extension to leaving Cleveland for Miami in a televised spectacle to ditching Miami as the Heat began to sputter to leaving Cleveland again for the league's ultimate glamour franchise to now leaving that Lakers team (perhaps not by choice) after ensconcing his son on the roster with a guaranteed contract. These were all very LeBronian decisions, and left him open to sometimes valid and sometimes silly critiques.
But in retrospect, they all also fit a narrative. The local kid couldn't get over the hump and went to a championship city to learn how to win at the highest level ... then came back to deliver a championship for his community. Once that achievement was met, he decamped for a bigger city where he could raise his family, get his first-born into the NBA and further build a legacy on and off the court.
It could have ended there. But LeBron still has juice and wants to play at least another year. The Lakers won't have him because they need to start the Luka Doncic era in earnest, and don't think they can do that with King James in hand. (Are they right about that? Reports from The Stein Line suggest they are about to sign Sandro Mamukelashvili and Quentin Grimes, and might spring an offer sheet big enough to convince the Jazz to let Walker Kessler, uh, walk. Is that a championship supporting cast for Luka and Austin Reaves?)
So now everyone's trying to find LeBron a home. The most heavily rumored destination for months now has been the Golden State Warriors. You know, the team that LeBron's Cavaliers faced in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 through 2018. The team whose all-time legend Stephen Curry supplanted LeBron as the best player in the NBA during that era. The foil for LeBron's greatest NBA triumph, the 2016 championship.
The Warriors have been trying to get LeBron for years now to pair with Stephen Curry, and LeBron has demurred repeatedly. It makes sense why: landing there after all those battles wouldn't fit James' story arc at all. The Warriors were not exactly a beloved foil for LeBron and the Cavs, and LeBron is not a popular human in the Bay Area. The most likely outcome would be that he would be less embraced than Kevin Durant (who was a two-time Finals MVP for Golden State) and the team would be way less successful than during their prior mercenary era. The Warriors would probably still be a play-in team, or a low playoff seed. LeBron and Steph and perhaps Draymond Green would have some fun, but we'd eventually remember this era – a year, two years, whatever – like we remember Jordan in D.C.
Ah yes, Jordan in D.C. The ur example of an all-time legend holding on for one more run and ending up in a random situation that really doesn't fit the career arc at all. That's LeBron in Golden State, or just about anywhere else.
The one and only landing spot that makes sense for LeBron is Cleveland, where it all started and where it can all finish. What's more is that the Cavaliers are competitive with Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell, and while there may be some feelings to work out in bringing back the all-time face of the franchise, the level of excitement and belief would grow with King James returning home. There are complications, of course. Chief among them: the other MVP James of this generation, James Harden. The Beard opted out of his contract to re-sign a multi-year deal with Cleveland. The franchise is already in a financial crunch and may need to trade Jarrett Allen to L.A. or a third party to give LeBron a salary commensurate with his expected contributions ($15 million has been thrown around). The Cavaliers with LeBron and without Allen, assuming he departs; Dean Wade, who already left; and whoever else slides away in the shuffle – that's probably not a title favorite in the East, not with the Knicks, Pacers, Pistons, Raptors (!) and Celtics circling. But it's certainly a playoff team. And even that would bring a poetic end to LeBron's story as an NBA player.
If LeBron spends two seasons back in Cleveland, he'll establish potentially an unbeatable record for seasons played at 25 and push his all-time records for points, games and minutes even further in front. If the Cavs can pull together a couple of runs, he can bolster his already impossible playoff records for games, minutes and points. More important than all that, he will re-establish the NBA fandom's view of him in the most favorable light possible, as the hero who brought the Cavaliers' ultimate relevance and triumph.
If LeBron really wants to be considered the greatest ever, reminding people what he did for a city starved for success and his hometown franchise is the best possible way to go out. The opportunity is there. Take it.
And 1
LeBron playing two more years doesn't just get him to 25 years in the league. It gets us to the 2028-29 season, purported to be the inaugural season for the Las Vegas NBA franchise, which LeBron has been signaling he wants to be a part of. As Michael Jordan knows better than anyone, you can't play in the NBA and own a team at the same time. So assuming LeBron can be in the ownership group of a team that hasn't yet started amassing assets and playing games, this could line up perfectly for him to have no gap.
I will also repeat for the thousandth time that Kevin Durant needs to stick around long enough to be on the "expansion" Seattle SuperSonics roster in '28-29. Talk about a full circle moment.
Plus the Foul
Why is it assumed that if Curry and LeBron must play together, it should be in San Francisco? Both dudes were born in Akron, a city near Cleveland. Go home, Steph!
Wood You Look At That?
Kawhi Leonard is indeed headed back to Toronto. The Raptors are sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected firsts, a 2027 pick swap and two seconds to the Clippers for Leonard. The picks could hurt next decade, but that swap is shrugworthy unless something goes horribly, horribly wrong next year and, more importantly, Toronto keeps its most important players on the roster and ready to contend at the top level in the East.
Kawhi and Scottie Barnes together. That's frisky.
More on both teams as the offseason develops.
More Deals
Dean Wade to the Sixers for four years, $39 million. Merriam-Webster: it's time to update your definition for the word "cromulent."
John Collins to Detroit. One presumes this means that Tobias Harris will land somewhere else.
The Rockets signed Marcus Smart to a 2-year deal and Bogdan Bogdanovic to a 1-year deal. It appears thus far that Houston is not panicking after a disaster finish to their season.
Keon Ellis to the Nets. I think we finally found a team where Ellis will get the minutes that the Basketball Internet has long thought he deserved! The legacy of this move, however, is Shams Charania's incomprehensible scoop announcing it. (It actually is a mutual option: if both Ellis and the Nets opt out next summer, he's a free agent again. If either one of them wants to keep the option, the contract continues.)
En Otras Noticias ...
The NBA announced that it has received bids for the 12 permanent clubs in the gestating NBA Europe league. ESPN's Ben Golliver reports that all 12 target markets for those clubs received viable bids, with some coming in over $1 billion. Winners of those bids will be announced on a rolling basis as they are vetted. One presumes that bids from existing Euroleague teams who are jumping ship will be among the first to be announced, which will create for some interesting drama as we approach the 2026-27 Euroleague season. Will Euroleague ban those teams from the competition? We'll see!
Meanwhile, Sportico has a fascinating, deep breakdown of the league's planned financial structure. The short version is that Adam Silver has convinced NBA owners to back the league with lots of capital at start-up in exchange for ongoing revenue down the line.
We'll have much more on this in the future. I'm super curious if the NBA will encourage player movement between the NBA and NBA Europe and whether the league's involvement can finally create high-level basketball teams (and thus basketball interest) in London and Rome.
Alright, that's all for this week's free newsletter. Subscribers: we'll see you on Thursday for more free agency reaction. Free members: don't miss out. Join up to get access to all of the newsletter plus the Discord.
Be excellent to each other.
