Many considered LeBron James as good as gone from the Cleveland Cavaliers if the team exited the 2016 NBA playoffs early.
Cleveland has done nothing of the sort, instead rampaging through the postseason and morphing into something of a legitimate opponent for whichever team emerges from the Western Conference.
What this has done, though, is breed a new kind of James-abandoning-Cavaliers theory. it comes from Stephen A. Smith of ESPN:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjn4sCuNpg4&feature=youtu.be
I’ll drop one other tidbit of information, because people have been ignoring what I’ve been saying. I’ve hinted around it for months as you well know. But I’m going to say this again.
LeBron James promised the city of Cleveland, “I’m coming back to bring you that elusive title that has escaped this city since 1964.” He never said anything about staying once he does accomplish that.
Well then.
This all seems highly unlikely, then again, so was a return to Cleveland in the first place. If LeBron brought a title to the Cavaliers as promised, it would be interesting to see how fans would react if he decided to pack it up and leave again for pastures where his odds at a title were greener. Maybe this is in the back of LeBron’s mind anyway as he continues to age, as in time he’ll need a support network to keep contending for titles as opposed to doing it all himself.
It might all be a moot point anyway. Like Smith mentions, it’s hard to imagine LeBron ditches the Cavaliers without getting the city a title. But that’s easier said than done this year no matter how good the Cavaliers have looked—the team has had a rather easy road through the playoff bracket. Both the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors easily have enough talent to upend LeBron and the Cavaliers in the Finals.
This is getting way ahead of things anyway. Cleveland leads the Toronto Raptors 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals right now, though lost Game 3 on the road before another road stand Monday night. That said, this latest LeBron theory is something to keep in mind as the series continues.