LeBron James is widely expected to leave the Los Angeles Lakers for the Cleveland Cavaliers if he doesn’t retire from the NBA this offseason, sources told DallasHoopsJournal.
James becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason for the first time since 2018. If he doesn’t retire, the NBA legend is expected to return to his hometown Cavaliers to play with James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, sources said.
The Lakers are ready to move on from James as they look to build around Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, sources said. James has been with the Purple and Gold since the 2018-19 season. The basketball icon led the franchise to the 2020 championship at the Walt Disney World bubble. Los Angeles also made the 2023 Western Conference Finals, a series the Denver Nuggets won in four games.
A January ESPN article stated, in part, that Lakers governor Jeanie Buss didn’t like that James “was considered a savior for a floundering franchise when he arrived in 2018.” ESPN also reported that Buss feels James hasn’t taken enough accountability for the Russell Westbrook trade being a failure.
James has played for the Cavaliers twice. He’s the best player in franchise history and will get his No. 23 jersey retired by the organization one day. A “farewell tour” with Cleveland would be a storybook ending for James, who was born and raised in Akron, Ohio.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, James guided the Cavaliers to their only championship in 2016 against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. The 2015-16 Cleveland team is the only squad in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.
Arguably the greatest player in NBA history, LeBron James is a four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP. He’s still an offensive force despite being the oldest active player in the association. James is averaging 21.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game for the Lakers this season.