Why LeBron James is most certainly leaving the Cavaliers next summer
After he earns a measly $33 million this upcoming season, LeBron will once again have an opportunity to dip back into free agency. He is a virtual lock to at least opt out of his current deal, so he can either A. make more money, B. flee to another team, or C. both.
The Las Vegas Summer League has not even started yet, and King James is already laying down the breadcrumbs for his inevitable, and totally justifiable, departure. Here are 5 hints that LeBron is out the door, barring another championship.
He already fulfilled his promise to the city of Cleveland
When LeBron made his infamous and widely ridiculed "Decision", he also had stripped Cleveland of its only transcendent sports superstar (I still love you Joe Thomas). The Cavs tanked year after year once LeBron departed, and they ended up receiving the 1st overall pick three times in a four year span. The team and city had so little hope to ever break its title drought.
But when LeBron heroically returned in 2014, after having won two rings, Cleveland embraced him again. LeBron came back vowing to deliver his hometown the championship it so desperately craved, and when he finally, dramatically delivered in Game 7 of the 2016 finals, he became a God in the city. If (and when) LeBron leaves the Cavs again, fans will expectedly be a bit disappointed, but they will feel so grateful that he kept his word and delivered a ring, that any bitterness toward him for leaving will pale in comparison to that of 2010.
LeBron winning Cleveland a ring is his get-out-of-jail free card. He can now move on after bringing the city glory, and will still probably be loved and cheered for by Cavs fans.
A report leaked that Savannah wants to move to LA
Happy wife, happy life, am I right? In a column days before the NBA draft, Bleacher Report writer Kevin Ding was taking stock of the Lakers' future options, where he dropped this juicy nugget: "Cleveland's loss in the 2017 NBA Finals has led Lakers officials to hear more whispers about James' interest in a final chapter in Los Angeles, where his wife would like to live full time, per sources."
Hmmmmmmm.
Savannah has a sterling reputation among NBA players and reporters. People respected how she always kept quiet, even amid whining from other players' wives such as Ayesha Curry. There is no way she would want this information public, for possible fear of fans blaming her for another LeBron departure. But you know who probably doesn't mind that this is out there? Why, LeBron James.
Listen, it's mildly possible, yet really hard to envision, Savannah secretly going to Ding or other NBA reporters and telling them she wants to move to LA full time, which if true, could you really blame her? She's married to one of the richest men in the world, could live anywhere she wants, but has spent most of her life in freaking Cleveland.
When reading this report, one can only think of how it will be mentioned once LeBron finally leaves. "Oh, remember when we heard his wife wanted to live in LA? That might explain his move to sign with the Lakers," some bozo will say.
He finally bashed Gilbert on Uninterrupted's "The Shop"
Everybody remembers the letter Dan Gilbert posted on the Cavs website after LeBron took his talents to South Beach. He basically ripped, teared apart and trashed LeBron and his name, displaying the exact opposite of a classy goodbye. Now, even though LeBron came back, he is never going to forget that. Sure, he hasn't mentioned it since he came back, but now he finally let out the raw emotions of how he was feeling at the time.
In what was otherwise a pretty hilarious 30 minute conversation between LeBron, his friends, Draymond Green, 2 Chainz and Charles Oakley goofing around, LeBron unexpectedly let loose on Gilbert.
"He completely bashed me and disrespected not only me as an individual but disrespected my name," James said. "And my name is not just myself, it's my wife, my kids, my grandfather, my mother, so many more people."
Gilbert already has a terrible reputation among fans, players and people around the league. He has never re-signed a general manager in his 10+ years as the team's majority owner. Now that LeBron laid the hammer down on Gilbert, and let it publicly be known that he definitely has not forgotten what Gilbert has said about him, there will be less backlash once LeBron leaves.
Can one really be blamed for leaving a toxic ownership situation?
ESPN reports LeBron is not actively recruiting free agents
Here is something you have to know about LeBron: He is the most powerful sports player in the world, and has a very small circle of trust that includes friends he has grown up with. It's agent Rich Paul, business manager Maverick Carter, friend Randy Mims and Savannah. Any report concerning or mentioning LeBron is strategically put out there by his team. LeBron knows which info becomes public, and that is because he wants it to be public.
So it was telling when ESPN's Dave McMenamin, who LeBron has built a relationship with, wrote a story on how LeBron, who usually recruits the hell out of players, has not been actively recruiting for the Cavs. Now, forget the fact there is nobody to recruit, since the Cavs are capped out. LeBron could have said nothing, and it would have been understood if he did not recruit anyone, since the Cavs have no money.
But LeBron let it become public that he was not taking part in recruiting free agents. He clearly wanted that to be known, possibly as a means of saying, "I'm unhappy at how things are being run around here lately, and I'm going to make that known."
It's going to be a tad less surprising if LeBron leaves next summer when there was a report that he wasn't recruiting for the team the summer before. The dude is playing chess with us.
Chauncey Billups turns down offer to become Cavs President of Basketball Operations
This one was the most telling. Yes, Billups could have turned down the job because of monetary arguments or staffing concerns with Gilbert, but here is a much more plausible theory: Nobody, and I mean nobody, is turning down the job of being the head of a basketball team where LeBron James is guaranteed to stay. No one.
Billups shares the same agency as Shane Battier, a former trusted teammate of James, and Jason Kidd, who is known to be close with LeBron and his buddies. Billups and LeBron also have mutual respect for one another after 2006 and 2007 playoff battles, and there is no way Billups did not contact James and his people when deliberating on whether to take on Gilbert's offer.
Here's how a convo probably went with Billups and either Rich Paul/Maverick or LeBron himself. Let's say he talked with Paul.
Chauncey: "Ok guys, you know I want this job, but I don't know how I feel about it if LeBron isn't guaranteed to stay. So, is he staying?"
Paul: "Man, Chauncey, do not take the job. There is a good chance LeBron leaves after next season."
Chauncey: "alright, thanks fam"
Billups took about a week to decide on accepting Gilbert's offer, so me must have reached out to LeBron's people or asked Battier or Kidd what they thought. If the responses showed confidence LeBron would be staying, Billups would have been the Cavs' POBO a week ago.
Billups' decision was the most foreboding for me, because, as a former player, he definitely had the resources to contact LeBron's people to see if he was staying.
LeBron will be gone by the 2018-2019 season. He's already planting the seeds.
The Las Vegas Summer League has not even started yet, and King James is already laying down the breadcrumbs for his inevitable, and totally justifiable, departure. Here are 5 hints that LeBron is out the door, barring another championship.
He already fulfilled his promise to the city of Cleveland
When LeBron made his infamous and widely ridiculed "Decision", he also had stripped Cleveland of its only transcendent sports superstar (I still love you Joe Thomas). The Cavs tanked year after year once LeBron departed, and they ended up receiving the 1st overall pick three times in a four year span. The team and city had so little hope to ever break its title drought.
But when LeBron heroically returned in 2014, after having won two rings, Cleveland embraced him again. LeBron came back vowing to deliver his hometown the championship it so desperately craved, and when he finally, dramatically delivered in Game 7 of the 2016 finals, he became a God in the city. If (and when) LeBron leaves the Cavs again, fans will expectedly be a bit disappointed, but they will feel so grateful that he kept his word and delivered a ring, that any bitterness toward him for leaving will pale in comparison to that of 2010.
LeBron winning Cleveland a ring is his get-out-of-jail free card. He can now move on after bringing the city glory, and will still probably be loved and cheered for by Cavs fans.
A report leaked that Savannah wants to move to LA
Happy wife, happy life, am I right? In a column days before the NBA draft, Bleacher Report writer Kevin Ding was taking stock of the Lakers' future options, where he dropped this juicy nugget: "Cleveland's loss in the 2017 NBA Finals has led Lakers officials to hear more whispers about James' interest in a final chapter in Los Angeles, where his wife would like to live full time, per sources."
Hmmmmmmm.
Savannah has a sterling reputation among NBA players and reporters. People respected how she always kept quiet, even amid whining from other players' wives such as Ayesha Curry. There is no way she would want this information public, for possible fear of fans blaming her for another LeBron departure. But you know who probably doesn't mind that this is out there? Why, LeBron James.
Listen, it's mildly possible, yet really hard to envision, Savannah secretly going to Ding or other NBA reporters and telling them she wants to move to LA full time, which if true, could you really blame her? She's married to one of the richest men in the world, could live anywhere she wants, but has spent most of her life in freaking Cleveland.
When reading this report, one can only think of how it will be mentioned once LeBron finally leaves. "Oh, remember when we heard his wife wanted to live in LA? That might explain his move to sign with the Lakers," some bozo will say.
He finally bashed Gilbert on Uninterrupted's "The Shop"
Everybody remembers the letter Dan Gilbert posted on the Cavs website after LeBron took his talents to South Beach. He basically ripped, teared apart and trashed LeBron and his name, displaying the exact opposite of a classy goodbye. Now, even though LeBron came back, he is never going to forget that. Sure, he hasn't mentioned it since he came back, but now he finally let out the raw emotions of how he was feeling at the time.
In what was otherwise a pretty hilarious 30 minute conversation between LeBron, his friends, Draymond Green, 2 Chainz and Charles Oakley goofing around, LeBron unexpectedly let loose on Gilbert.
"He completely bashed me and disrespected not only me as an individual but disrespected my name," James said. "And my name is not just myself, it's my wife, my kids, my grandfather, my mother, so many more people."
Gilbert already has a terrible reputation among fans, players and people around the league. He has never re-signed a general manager in his 10+ years as the team's majority owner. Now that LeBron laid the hammer down on Gilbert, and let it publicly be known that he definitely has not forgotten what Gilbert has said about him, there will be less backlash once LeBron leaves.
Can one really be blamed for leaving a toxic ownership situation?
ESPN reports LeBron is not actively recruiting free agents
Here is something you have to know about LeBron: He is the most powerful sports player in the world, and has a very small circle of trust that includes friends he has grown up with. It's agent Rich Paul, business manager Maverick Carter, friend Randy Mims and Savannah. Any report concerning or mentioning LeBron is strategically put out there by his team. LeBron knows which info becomes public, and that is because he wants it to be public.
So it was telling when ESPN's Dave McMenamin, who LeBron has built a relationship with, wrote a story on how LeBron, who usually recruits the hell out of players, has not been actively recruiting for the Cavs. Now, forget the fact there is nobody to recruit, since the Cavs are capped out. LeBron could have said nothing, and it would have been understood if he did not recruit anyone, since the Cavs have no money.
But LeBron let it become public that he was not taking part in recruiting free agents. He clearly wanted that to be known, possibly as a means of saying, "I'm unhappy at how things are being run around here lately, and I'm going to make that known."
It's going to be a tad less surprising if LeBron leaves next summer when there was a report that he wasn't recruiting for the team the summer before. The dude is playing chess with us.
Chauncey Billups turns down offer to become Cavs President of Basketball Operations
This one was the most telling. Yes, Billups could have turned down the job because of monetary arguments or staffing concerns with Gilbert, but here is a much more plausible theory: Nobody, and I mean nobody, is turning down the job of being the head of a basketball team where LeBron James is guaranteed to stay. No one.
Billups shares the same agency as Shane Battier, a former trusted teammate of James, and Jason Kidd, who is known to be close with LeBron and his buddies. Billups and LeBron also have mutual respect for one another after 2006 and 2007 playoff battles, and there is no way Billups did not contact James and his people when deliberating on whether to take on Gilbert's offer.
Here's how a convo probably went with Billups and either Rich Paul/Maverick or LeBron himself. Let's say he talked with Paul.
Chauncey: "Ok guys, you know I want this job, but I don't know how I feel about it if LeBron isn't guaranteed to stay. So, is he staying?"
Paul: "Man, Chauncey, do not take the job. There is a good chance LeBron leaves after next season."
Chauncey: "alright, thanks fam"
Billups took about a week to decide on accepting Gilbert's offer, so me must have reached out to LeBron's people or asked Battier or Kidd what they thought. If the responses showed confidence LeBron would be staying, Billups would have been the Cavs' POBO a week ago.
Billups' decision was the most foreboding for me, because, as a former player, he definitely had the resources to contact LeBron's people to see if he was staying.
LeBron will be gone by the 2018-2019 season. He's already planting the seeds.
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