Let The "LeBron Might Leave Us Again!" Freakout Begin

It's funny to consider how quickly things have snowballed for the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Sunday morning, they were a super-talented team that was still figuring things out and waiting to hit their stride. One brutal loss to the Pistons later, and there's talk that head coach David Blatt has lost the team, speculation that wasn't exactly snuffed out by LeBron James's tepid endorsement. ("Yeah, I mean, he's our coach, what other coach do we have?") And today, from Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, comes something else for Cavs fans to freak out about.

Stuck fairly far down in Haynes's column about what's troubling the Cavs is this alarming paragraph:

Given the massive scrutiny he would endure if he departed Cleveland a second time, if his hand is forced, I'm told he won't hesitate to make the appropriate business decision if it means bolting.

Damn! As oddly phrased and thinly sourced as that anecdote is—who is telling Haynes this? Someone from LeBron's circle? Someone from the Cavs' front office? Haynes's uncle?—the fact that it's even in print right now is rather remarkable. We're not even six months removed from James making his return to Cleveland, supposedly healing all wounds and restoring balance to the Force, and now people are sitting around wondering if he might abandon ship after one season. Poor Cleveland, man.

[ Cleveland.com]