The Cleveland Cavaliers put up a good fight in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Boston Celtics, but they ultimately ended up suffering a 109-102 loss, falling in a 3-1 series deficit in the process. While it was great to see the team put up a good fight, despite being without Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen, it was also great to see old friend LeBron James in the building, as he was sitting courtside with his wife, Savannah, and his agent Rich Paul for this game.
James obviously wasn’t going to attend this game without being seen, and everyone around the NBA took note of his appearance at this game ahead of an offseason where he could opt out of his deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and hit the open market. According to Brian Windhorst, his phone was blowing up as a result of James attending this game, as many folks are curious to see whether he could actually return to Cleveland for his third stint with them.
Could LeBron James return to the Cavs for a third stint?
Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
James is set for an interesting offseason after the Lakers crashed out of the playoffs in the first-round at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. As noted above, he could hit free agency if he wanted to, and with his son, Bronny, set to enter the league in the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft, he could conceivably try to find a way to team up with him if he left Los Angeles.
Windhorst saying that his phone was quickly blowing up shows that people are aware this could be a sign from LeBron that he’s open to returning to Cleveland. While it is being played off as him simply being in town for Mother’s Day and just happening to attend the game, you can never truly overlook these things, especially when it comes to someone like James.
The reason why people are looking into this so much is because the last time LeBron made his triumphant return to Cleveland, he was in attendance for Zydrunas Ilgauskas jersey retirement ceremony prior to making that big decision. James got permission to attend that game midway through the 2014 campaign with the Miami Heat, and a few months later, he was back with the Cavs.
Could a return to the Cavs be in the cards for James? Technically speaking, it seems like everything is on the table for LeBron this offseason, but as Windhorst notes, this is likely just a play to make the Lakers nervous and give James what he wants (not that they weren’t going to in the first place). It’s clear that James’ situation is one worth keeping an eye on, and who knows, maybe he will end up returning to Cleveland to close out his career in the same place it began.
