The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Lakers now have a couple things in common. Both teams exited the NBA playoffs after losing a series in five games — although the Cavaliers, unlike the Lakers, made it to the second round. And both teams could be jostling to convince one player where he should be taking his talents for the 2024/25.
LeBron James has a history with Cleveland, forged over two memorable stints with the Cavaliers. And he has also become a Lakers icon after leading the franchise to a championship in 2020, four years after he won a ring in Cleveland. Is it actually possible that the King could make a sensational return to the Land this summer?
Fans take advantage of Cleveland’s playoff exit
The Cavaliers’ 2023/24 season ended on Wednesday night with a 113-98 loss to the Boston Celtics, who moved on to the Eastern Conference Finals. Changes are expected in Cleveland this offseason, even after the Cavs made it past the first round for the first time since LeBron left for Los Angeles in 2018. The future of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is under scrutiny, while the franchise will likely keep one of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell — likely trading the other.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert took to X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday night to speak about his pride in this Cleveland team, but opportunistic fans — many of whom saw LeBron at Game 4 of this series — took the chance to beg Gilbert to reconnect with James and bring him back this summer.
Speculation about James’ future is heating up once again after the Lakers were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets. James is likely to decline his playuer option for next season and hit free agency after six years in Los Angeles — and even though the expectation is that the 39-year-old will eventually agree to new terms with the Lakers, it remains to be seen how much the franchise can improve after dismissing head coach Darvin Ham earlier this month.
With either Garland or Mitchell set to stay, and emering young big man Evan Mobley set for another leap next season, maybe LeBron is eyeing one last dance with his hometown team.
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