Ever since the All Star Game in Cleveland and the comments made by LeBron James about his home area during the festivities, there have been rumors or speculation that James would consider coming back to the Cavaliers, especially now that the wine and gold are playing winning basketball.
James is 37 years old, but is still playing at an amazingly high level. He is currently averaging 29.4 points per game, the highest since the end of his first tenure in Cleveland, way back in ’09-’10.
He poured in 56 points on Friday night against Golden State, and you can still make an excellent case that he is the most dominant talent in the NBA, even in what figures to be the twilight of his career.
Adding James to the current Cavaliers’ roster would make them the favorites to hang a second NBA title banner from the rafters of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
However, it isn’t as simple as that. It never is when it comes to LeBron James.
First, James is owed $44 million next year on the last year of his contract, so even if he told the Lakers he wanted out, the Cleveland would still have to make the numbers work in terms of the salary cap.
And of course, the Lakers would want something in return, a very good player more than likely to pair with Anthony Davis.
Would Koby Altman want to part with either of his new “Big Three”, Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, or Evan Mobley to get a player, even a player with James’ greatness, who will turn 38 years old.
We know James keeps himself in pristine shape. Still, Father Time is undefeated and no one knows when age will creep up for The King. So, let’s say the Cavaliers are willing to give up Allen to the Lakers, and they only get one great season out of James?
That would be throwing away the rebuilding done by the front office over the last four years.
If James were to come back and just be a player and fit in with the current corps, there wouldn’t be any problems, correct? James can do whatever is needed on the court. He can score. He’s just around 1600 points from becoming the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
He can rebound, averaging 8.1 this season, and the last time he was under 7.5 for a season, the Cavs won the 2016 championship.
And we all know he can pass. Two seasons ago, he led the league in assists. People who know the game say, he is a pass first player and is going to wind up as the greatest scorer in history.
We know James and his people wouldn’t just join the team and fit in. He would start making suggestions about adding veterans to the mix, he would rather play with guys who have been in the league.
He might start second guessing J.B. Bickerstaff or perhaps Altman. And he might put some burdens on the salary cap that will remain long after he is gone.
The latter might be a problem since the core of this team figures to be here for a while.
While bringing LeBron James back would make the Cavs instant championship contenders, they might be in the same position in two or three years without bringing him.
As we said earlier, it’s just not as simple as getting him and plugging him in. And it’s Koby Altman’s job to figure whether or not it’s the right move to make.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 