LeBron James has an opt-out in his contract this offseason. And he is going to opt out. But did anyone really expect him to leave? Well if you did, you were wrong. While it won’t be official for a few weeks, LeBron said at the Cavaliers championship parade that he’s staying. “I love it here in Cleveland. I have no intentions of leaving. There are some technicalities to take care of I’ll leave up to my agent. That’s right from the horse’s mouth,” James told ESPN.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. When he came back to Cleveland it was hard to see him going anywhere else after. He had a goal to bring a championship to Cleveland, and he did, but that didn’t mean he was just going to leave right after. And did you really think he would miss the banner being raised at the beginning of next year? No way.
Two teams people we’re bringing up LeBron possibly going to were the Lakers and the Heat. Saying he would go back to the Heat is an easy one because obviously, that’s where he used to play. But what about the Heat is more appealing right now then the Cavs? Dwayne Wade had a pretty good year last year, but he’s not getting any younger. And nobody knows what the future holds for Chris Bosh and his blood clots. He got shut down the past two seasons because of them. And with the Lakers, they’re a nice young team. But when LeBron went to Cleveland he chose Kevin Love over a good young incoming rookie in Andrew Wiggins. So why would he go play with second-year player D’Angelo Russell and most likely Brandon Ingram? His best option is to stay and play with Kyrie Irving, who showed a lot in the NBA Finals. So while it’s not official, it should come as no surprise that LeBron is staying in Cleveland.
