At the time of the NBA All-Star, most of the league's players have been given valuable mid-game breaks, but the top stars selected by fans still need to prepare for the All-Star Weekend, including James of the Lakers.
Interestingly, this all-star event was held in Cleveland, which also made the call for James's return to Cleveland more and more loud.
Coupled with the Cavaliers' becoming the big dark horse in the East this season, all the way to the fourth position in the East, while the Lakers fell out of the championship race and fell into the double dilemma of injury and run-in, James's return to the Cavaliers is undoubtedly a wise choice.
Therefore, during the All-Star period, James was naturally asked relevant questions, and he himself responded in public interviews many times.
And in a recent interview with "The Athletic", James answered a number of related questions, leaving fans with huge imagination space.
During the period, the US media, which was good at creating topics, also interviewed the Cavaliers' current core Garland at the first time, who directly spoke from his heart and pierced James's heart.
At the beginning of the interview, James was asked by the reporter how he felt to return to a familiar place, trying to get closer and gradually enter the topic.
James directly said that people always say , 'You're going home,' but he keeps telling people that he's not from Cleveland, it's not disrespectful to Cleveland, it's that he's from Akron, not Cleveland.
When you grew up in Akron, Ohio, no one cared about you, only the people in that small town who supported you all the time.
Then James naturally talked about Cleveland hosting an All-Star, and James said Cleveland deserved it all, and they deserved the moment.
Because they have two All-Star players, Garland and Big Man Allen, and themselves in the All-Star.
James then praised Cavaliers general manager Altman, who said Altman and his colleagues did an incredible job in trading and drafting.
James said: "I think the deal for Allen was amazing and Garland is also a top-notch player. ”
James then spent a great deal of time praising his old teammate Love, saying that Love played the role of inspiring young players, he made a huge sacrifice, you know he is a veteran with a championship ring, but he is still willing to start from the bench, willing to play role players, so don't be surprised by the Cavaliers' record.
After some polite remarks, James was finally asked the core question of this interview, whether he would choose to join the Cavaliers for the third time?
James said he would never close the road, not saying he would definitely come back to play, but he didn't know what would happen in the future, or even when he would become a full free agent (after next season's contract ends).
Then James once again stressed that he had not considered joining the Cavaliers again, but would not rule out the possibility that he would sign a one-day contract and retire on a future day, or sign a new contract that was longer.
James was then asked why he chose to leave the Cavaliers again in 18 years, and interview reporter Jason Lloyd said that when James returned to the Cavaliers in 14 years, he said he would not leave again, and then he left again.
James responded that everything is life, life is constantly changing, need to set more goals, when he won the championship in Cleveland, he reached another level, so he set a new life goal.
During the period, he naturally talked about the end of the existing contract, and James said that those who stayed in the future to discuss, now they can still play very good basketball.
At the same time, interview reporter Jason Lloyd also pointed out from the salary perspective that the Cavaliers cannot sign James with a maximum salary, nor will it change the current core framework for James.
James himself also said in the interview that he will not play mid-level (middle-class contract) basketball and will not return for something below the peak (maximum salary).
But it is quite interesting that after this remark, James left a contagious possibility, James said that the last year of his career will be spent with his son, where Brownie is, where he is, as long as he can accompany the child for a year, money is not the focus.
This topic naturally quickly rushed to the hot search, and James's informative interview this time naturally attracted the attention of all parties.
Among them, Lakers media Silver Screen and Roll quickly forwarded the interview and gave the title of "James has made it clear that one foot stepped out of the Lakers".
Harrison Faigen, the article's author and Lakers reporter, said directly that James' Lakers era is coming to an end, and the question now is when it will end, not whether it will end.
However, the core of the Cavaliers, who have now achieved success, does not seem to welcome James' return, of which Garland said what he said in the interview.
Garland was asked in an interview that the Cavaliers, who had never made the playoffs without James since 1998, had what he expected from the team as the current core of the team.
Garland said he and the current Cavaliers players want to create their own legacy and story, which is a new Cavaliers, Cleveland's rebirth, and stressed that the issue of James' return has never been discussed in the team.