When Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James decided to take his talents to South Beach in the summer of 2010, fans in Northeast Ohio were visibly (and vocally) upset. The weeks leading up to his fateful decision were filled with outlandish rumors and juicy drama, as most of his followers know. Was he going to stay, or was he going to go? That’s what everyone wanted to know.
James, now 32 years of age and entering his 15th season in the NBA, is once again eligible for free agency at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season. This time, however, the King says things will be handled a bit differently.
When asked if he still intends on retiring as a member of the Cavaliers, as he has stated in the past, James gave a fairly direct response, saying he will not cheat the team or his teammates.
“(My mindset) hasn’t changed,” James said. “That’s why I sit up here today — still in this uniform. (I’m) still ready to lead this franchise to a championship, put us in a position where we can be successful. Obviously, you guys know, with me, anytime I’m able to either be a free agent or my contract is ending, then I’ll approach that when the summer comes.
“I won’t ever cheat my teammates, or cheat the fans, or be in a situation where I’m worried or talking about free agency all year long,” James continued. “I’m not going to give energy to something that I can handle in the summer time when I should be focused what I need to do on a day-to-day basis to help this franchise compete for a championship, because that’s what the front office wants. I think that’s what Koby (Altman) and the front office would want. I think that’s what Dan (Gilbert) would want. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t have made the deal they made to bring in this group of talent, and made the deals to get (Derrick) Rose here and Jeff Green here, Jose Calderon — guys like that who have championship-level talent.
“It’s my obligation to go about it that way, James said in closing. “When the summer comes, I will approach that.”
There are no experts or analysts who know exactly what James’ intentions are with regards to his looming decision. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that James himself doesn’t even know yet. However, words like these would seem to indicate he is content with riding off into a Northeast Ohio sunset.
