Richard Jefferson was one of the most jovial players of the Cleveland Cavaliers in recent years. Jefferson was a valuable player off the bench when the Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Finals. His versatile defense and efficient 3-point shooting allowed the Cavaliers to flourish on the court, even against the likes of a 73-win Golden State Warriors team.
In 2017, Jefferson was less effective and got lit up by Kevin Durant, while providing almost no help from the bench as the Cavs lost the series 4-1.
Jefferson has been an outspoken voice of the current state of the NBA. He recently even discussed the upcoming free agency of LeBron James, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Richard Jefferson’s take on LeBron James’ upcoming free agency was pretty measured and nuanced: “It’s an easy storyline for you guys to write, but at the end of the day, no one knew he was going to Miami, no one knew he was coming back here and he’s allowed to be a free agent. He’s allowed to be a free agent. Just like teams are allowed to trade players. . .He’ll address it with his family when the season is over.
Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
I don’t know, no one knows, people can guess, everyone wants to now throw these shots in the dark. ‘Oh he’s going to go here, he’s going to do this. He played junior high hockey with this person so maybe he’ll go play in Minnesota.’ Shut up. No one knows. No one knows.”
Jefferson is definitely correct about one thing. No one has any idea what James might do in his upcoming free agency. That still hasn’t stopped the media and fans from formulating their own unique scenarios.
In any case, Jefferson knows better than anyone that James is unpredictable. This has concerned many people that LeBron James might bolt to another team, just like he did in 2010 and 2014. Therefore, this off-season is definitely going to be interesting whether The King decides to leave or not. Even with a promising postseason run approaching with this new Cavs roster, all eyes will be on James every move as he heads into his third free agency campaign.
