LeBron James did not mince words when he was asked about the possibility of returning to the Cavaliers anew. Caught in a wave of goodwill borne of the enthusiastic reception he received from hometown family members, friends, and fans, he replied to the query of Jason Lloyd of The Athletic with matter-of-fact resolve. 鈥淭he door鈥檚 not closed on that,鈥 he said, fresh off a practice session with other Western Conference All-Stars at Cleveland State facilities. 鈥淚鈥檓 not saying I鈥檓 coming back and playing. I don鈥檛 know. I don鈥檛 know what my future holds. I don鈥檛 even know when I鈥檓 free.鈥
James is being disingenuous, of course. Of all the marquee names in the National Basketball Association, he鈥檚 arguably the most knowledgeable about his status, and on how he can best maximize it. The increased mobility players enjoy these days is largely because he dared challenge the status quo, and succeed in so doing. And, if nothing else, he鈥檚 certainly aware he will again be a free agent after the 2022-23 season. So while he鈥檚 right in saying he doesn鈥檛 know what the future holds, it鈥檚 not because of ambiguity insofar as his contract with the Lakers is concerned.
Interestingly, James isn鈥檛 so much as exhibiting wanderlust as showing disappointment in his current plight. For all his machinations behind the scenes, the roster the Lakers assembled heading into the current campaign is far from thriving. He hasn鈥檛 been to the All-Star break with a losing record in 18 years, and he was still a rookie back then. And the irony is that all the setbacks have come with him setting personal milestone after personal milestone. He鈥檚 doing his best, but his best hasn鈥檛 been enough in the face of the frailties of those around him.
There are, to be sure, two sides to every coin, and it鈥檚 fair to argue that the Cavaliers will not want to take him in, the reverence with which the wine and gold regard him notwithstanding. They鈥檙e doing all right on their own, rising the wave of a youth invasion slated to keep them competitive for some time to come. Those strides would most definitely be sacrificed if the welcome mat is spread for him. And, make no mistake, he鈥檒l see the third time as the charm only if it leads to the opportunity of burning rubber with Bronny, his son 鈥 as is his publicly stated intent.
鈥淢y last year will be played with my son,鈥 James told Lloyd. 鈥淲herever Bronny is at, that鈥檚 where I鈥檒l be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It鈥檚 not about the money at that point.鈥 So there. At this point, nothing else matters. And considering how he continues to wreak havoc on the court, the bet looks like a safe one.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
