While Cleveland Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell has welcomed a LeBron James return, the Los Angeles Lakers forward could be potentially eyeing a comeback under a couple of circumstances, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. However, two conditions are for the Cavs.
Depending on how James responds will be another matter, but if all is well, there’s a good chance he’ll head back to the Cavs, as Windhorst noted.
“Number one, you look at how productive he is. Assuming he’s roughly the same player next year as he is now — when his legs feel good, he’s still highly impactful,” Windhorst said.
Windhorst went so far as to call it nearly a 100% chance that James heads back to the Cavs if the second clause stands.
“The second thing is, he would only come at a discount. The only way the Cavs could add him is to get him to play at either the minimum or maybe do some moves to create flexibility with the tax mid-level exception… From the Cavs’ perspective, it’s simple. Basically, they say to LeBron: if you want to play with us, this is what we can offer. “If he’s able and willing to accept that, I think it’s 99%.”
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out between LeBron James and the Cavs, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Donovan Mitchell drops ‘special’ take on LeBron James, Cavs
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Cavs All-Star Donovan Mitchell is solely focused on winning a championship. It’s been a goal throughout his time with the Cavs, and adding LeBron James to help secure his first title, second in franchise history, is something he’d be interested in, he said, per SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“As a Bron fan, man, to be able to be a teammate, obviously that would be special. But that’s not something that is [in] my control. I control what we got here,” Mitchell said. “There’s always going to be reports, it’s natural, it’s going to be a thing. But at the end of the day, to your point, my main focus is trying to get this championship. And whatever happens [with LeBron], it happens. That’s not up to me. It’s not up to anybody else in the locker room.
“I’m big on believing what I control, but yeah, it’s LeBron James. But at the end of the day, that’s not my focus. I’m not here to worry about that. I know that I’m gonna get asked that a bunch all weekend, but my focus is, we just traded for James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis — hey, let’s find a way to get a ring and go from there,” Mitchell concluded.
"As a Bron fan, that would be special. But that’s not something that is in my control… At the end of the day… My main focus is trying to get this champion."
Donovan Mitchell on LeBron James possibly returning to the Cavs 🗣️
(via @SiriusXMNBA)pic.twitter.com/f4JMxNPrne
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 16, 2026
All signs have pointed toward James and the Lakers heading their separate ways in the offseason, which could pave the way for LeBron to reunite with the Cavs.