I’m Convinced LeBron James Is Returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers & I’m Ready To Be Hurt Again

LeBron James was at Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in Cleveland on Monday night. Unless you live under a rock, you’ve likely seen the images and videos all over social media.

Make no mistake, James is the most intentional athlete of this generation. He does everything for a reason. Everything he says, posts, or does, is underneath a magnifying glass and it’s been that way for over two decades.

James was back in Ohio to handle business relating to his IPROMISE school in Akron. But it’s convenient that he made a pit stop at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, where he was greeted with roaring applause, fanfare and a tribute video that played during a television timeout.

So as a delusional Cleveland native, I did the one thing that we were always told not to do— get hooked. See, in Cleveland, we’re always prepared for the letdown. We’re the lovable losers, always looking forward to the next year. We’re the city that threw a parade for our winless football team and the town that suffered for over 50 years without a championship.

But last night, I got hooked.

James, who is deliberately intentional with every single move, had to show up courtside at a Cavs game for a reason. Right?

Realistically, this could be a savvy move to strongarm the Lakers.

After James was graciously welcomed back to Cleveland, the Lakers could feel some pressure to hire his close friend and podcast co-host JJ Redick as their next head coach as well as draft his son, Bronny James, who  impressed at the NBA Draft Combine and will officially remain in the 2024 NBA Draft. 

However, delusionally, I will choose to believe that James was testing the waters, trying to get a gauge of how he would be received in Cleveland, the city that he has left twice. James was cheered and revered as a hero on Monday night. It would be easy for him to return. He already has once. He sat alongside his wife, Savannah, and his long-time agent, friend, and business partner, Rich Paul, who all soaked in the thunderous round of applause. 

Not to mention, the Cavaliers today are in a better spot than they were when James returned in 2014. They’ve made the playoffs in consecutive seasons. They just won their first playoff series in over 30 years without James in uniform. Even without their two best players in Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen who were sidelined with nagging injuries, the Cavs were right in the thick of things with the Celtics, who were the NBA’s best team this season.

The Cavs ultimately lost on Monday night, and it looked like they could use a six-foot-nine small forward to neutralize the pairing of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the Eastern Conference. The need is apparent. 

While the Cavs competed tough in Game 4 against Boston, they are one loss away from having to make some tough decisions as an organization.

Is J.B. Bickerstaff the coach that Cleveland needs moving forward? Can Darius Garland and Mitchell co-exist? Can Evan Mobley and Allen work together in the modern NBA?
 

While every organization has tough decisions to make every offseason, it feels like the Cavs have been building towards something. So many years of lottery picks and a big trade with the Utah Jazz for a bonafide superstar. But that something just has not been good enough. It still feels incomplete, like we’re not seeing the entire vision of how this team was supposed to work at full strength.
 

James alleviates most of those tough, awkward conversations. Sure, he will be 40 years old in December. He’s admitted that he does not have much longer left.

The self-proclaimed Kid From Akron will likely opt out of his contract with the Lakers this summer. This is normal operating procedure, and doesn’t always signify a departure, as he can look for more security in terms of years on his deal and a no trade clause.

Or, perhaps, in my fairytale that makes way too much sense, James returns to Cleveland as the missing piece on a young Cavs roster that is ready to compete for one final dance.