According to reports, during the All-Star Game, the topic of whether James will return to the Cavaliers in his future career has been discussed by the outside world, mainly because James made relevant remarks during All-Star training. Asked in an interview if he would return to the Cavaliers in the future to start a third career, James said: "The door to that thing is not closed. I'm not saying I'm going to come back and play, I don't know. I don't know exactly what my future holds, and I don't even know when I'll be free. ”
From James's point to position, it can be seen that his return to the Cavaliers in the future is not entirely impossible, and after James's remarks, a Lakers reporter commented: "The era of James + Lakers is coming to an end." So far, it's just a question of 'when', not 'whether'. The reporter revealed that at present, James has tended to leave the Lakers in the future season and return to the Cavaliers who have played for him in two stages, which is likely to be only a matter of time.
A large part of the reason why James will have the idea of leaving the team this season is that the current Lakers' record is very bad, making it difficult for James to see the hope of continuing to impact the championship in the future. After spending a lot of money in the offseason to build a very luxurious lineup, the Lakers this season have not played their due performance, so far only 27 wins and 31 losses, temporarily only ranked ninth in the West. With little and relatively difficult schedule left, the current Lakers may still have to compete for playoff spots by playing in the playoffs.
In short, judging from the current trend, it is almost impossible for the Lakers to win the championship this season. For James, who has turned 37 this season, he doesn't have much time to wait for the Lakers to re-assemble the championship lineup. Up to now, James has still played extremely well this season, averaging 29.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 41 games, shooting 52.2% from the field, and his current average of points per game is also in the third place in the league.
Although James is still trying to lead the Lakers to win, the team still has a poor record, and they have almost no chance of winning without James. The current James is no longer the James of his youth, and the increase in age and the accumulation of injuries have made him have physical hidden dangers in the current situation of playing for a long time in a row. Before the deal deadline, the Lakers management, who had high hopes, did not make much movement, or even any reinforcements, and James did not agree to accept management's inaction.
Therefore, in a way, the reason why James has the idea of leaving the team is likely that he has been disappointed with the Lakers, after all, the Lakers currently want the future more, and James does not have much time left for the Lakers. James' current contract is a two-year, $85 million maximum contract that was extended early in the summer of 2020, which expires next season's offseason. If James chooses to leave the team, it's likely to happen next season's offseason. And if James chooses to leave the team at that time, then the Cavaliers will most likely become his next home.
On the one hand, it was James who entered the league and played for the team and led the team to a championship in 2016 after returning to the Cavaliers. As his hometown team, and as the boss of this team for many years, James is undoubtedly still full of emotion for the Cavaliers. On the other hand, the performance of the Cavaliers this season has also made James very satisfied, as of now, the Cavaliers, who have used a large lineup in a different way this season, have achieved the fourth record in the East, and they are likely to return to the playoffs at the same time, they will also be likely to become spoilers in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
If the current lineup can be maintained in the offseason next season, the Cavaliers will have a great attraction for James, and they will also instantly become a strong contender for the championship. If James can return to the Cavaliers, it will also be a good ending for his career. In the 2003 draft, James was selected by the Cavaliers as a champion, and soon James became the team boss and led the team to become a strong team in the league for a long time. In the 2007 playoffs, James led the team all the way to the Finals, but they were eventually swept out by the Spurs.
After failing to reach the Finals again for the next few seasons, James chose to leave the Cavaliers to join the Heat, thus forming the Heat Big Three and winning the championship twice in the next four seasons. After the Heat were eliminated by the Spurs in the 2014 Finals, James rejoined the Cavaliers in the offseason. After returning to the Cavaliers, James once again formed the Big Three and completed a stunning comeback from 1:3 to 4:3 in the 2016 Finals, beating the Warriors to win the championship. But in the following seasons, due to consecutive losses to the Warriors, James was discouraged and left the Cavaliers again to join the Lakers.
It has to be said that James's experience with the Lakers is still similar to that of the Heat, and when he has won the championship, James is likely to choose to return to the Cavaliers, and this return to the Cavaliers will be the last stop of his career. After winning four championships and almost all of the league's honors, james' primary goal is no longer to win the championship even if he leaves the Cavaliers.
Asked in an interview about the final season of his career, James said, "In the final season of my career, I'll play with Brownie, and no matter where Brown you play, that's where I'll go, it's where I'll go, it's revealed. I would be willing to do anything just to play with my son for a season, and then it wouldn't be a question of money. As can be seen from James's words, whether it is the Cavaliers, the Lakers or other teams in the league, as long as they can select Brownies in the future, then there is a good chance that they will get James.
However, it should be noted that James, who will enter the final stage of his career, will most likely not have the current dominance, and it will be difficult to decide whether a team will select Brownie in order to get James, after all, Brownie is not a particularly good rookie from the current point of view. In short, from all indications, it is likely that it is only a matter of time before James leaves the Cavaliers.