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Would LeBron really head back to Cleveland after leaving the Cavs just four years ago?
The prevailing thought heading into the offseason has been that the Miami Heat's Big Three would remain in Miami, but there has been some speculation that a break-up could happen. And on Sunday night, we get this:
Cleveland has replaced Miami as my frontrunner to land LeBron James...
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 7, 2014Then there's this:
In pursuit of max slot for LeBron James, Cavs searching for team to take Nets' Marcus Thornton in deal to unload Jarrett Jack, sources say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 7, 2014This all comes on a day when people freaked out over Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert flying down to Florida. So could this actually happen?
Why this makes sense
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After winning his two championships in Miami, James may want to right the wrong of "The Decision" and go back home to try and bring a title to Cleveland. It would certainly earn him back a lot of the goodwill he lost.
A move back to Cleveland would make plenty of basketball sense because of all of the young talent in place. Kyrie Irving is a stud point guard who has plenty of room to grow. Andrew Wiggins, while raw, has star potential. Not to mention all the other highly drafted talent in place.
The Cavs don't currently have max cap space, but they can clear that room by moving Jack. Clearly, that move is trying to be made.
Why this doesn't make sense
Cleveland going after James makes all the sense in the world, but Broussard was rather vague with his initial tweet, and he followed up with this:
I'm not saying LJ to Cavs is done deal or I know 4 a fact; just my gut feeling based on many conversations I've had around this story...
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 7, 2014These convos aren't sourced enough 4 me to report as fact. But I've heard enough to believe "the wind is blowing" LJ back home. We'll see...
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) July 7, 2014Also, while James going back to Cleveland would be a great story, is the four-time MVP willing to go back and play under Gilbert after the Cavs owner lambasted him for taking his talents to South Beach? Can James really trust a man who used Comic Sans in a letter to rip him? These are important questions here.
Finally, while there's a lot of young talent in place in Cleveland, it's talent that might not be ready to win a championship in the next year or two. James has familiarity with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and the Heat would likely be favorites in the Eastern Conference yet again next year if they all returned, especially if there's another key addition or two.
Likelihood
Perhaps some of this information getting out is just the James camp trying to gain more leverage, but there's quite a bit of smoke here. I'd still peg the Heat as the favorites, but I'm giving this a 4/10 chance of happening.