LeBron James gives every team he's on a risk to win a championship – except for this year's Los Angeles Lakers.

James has played some stellar basketball this season, merely the players around him aren't matching his success. He's averaging 29.1 points, the near since he was 25, but the Lakers are just 27-31 and No. ix in the Western Conference.

So, will James stay in LA, with an organization that hasn't successfully built effectually him since winning its 2020 championship, when his contract ends in 2023, or volition he look for an opportunity to win a title elsewhere?

His latest annotate left him some room to eventually return home and play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are 35-23 and 2.5 games out of first identify in the Eastern Conference. But the biggest question is whether the Cavs should want him.

LeBron is one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA and easily the best in Cavs history. Merely would adding him fifty-fifty be worth it for Cleveland?

LeBron James used half-dozen words to leave door for Cavs return open

Los Angeles Lakers and former Cavs star LeBron James during 2022 NBA All-Star Weekend.
LeBron James during NBA All Star Do on Feb. 19, 2022. | Arturo Holmes/2022 Getty Images

LeBron James is back in Cleveland, Ohio, the state and region he grew up in and the city where he spent xi of his NBA seasons, for All-Star Weekend. And while his return dwelling house shouldn't be that big of a deal, the Cavs are good without James for the kickoff time in 24 years, and the Lakers stink this flavour. So, there has been a ton of speculation nigh whether James and the Cavaliers could reunite when he becomes a free amanuensis in 2023.

In fact, when asked nearly it, James used half-dozen words to go out room for a third stint in The State open: "The door'due south not closed on that."

"I'm not saying I'm coming back and playing, I don't know," James said, per The Able-bodied'southward Jason Lloyd. "I don't know what my future holds. I don't even know when I'm gratis."

James also praised full general manager Koby Altman and the Cavs organization for its construction of its stellar roster.

"I recall Koby and those guys take done an unbelievable job drafting and making trades," he said before also speaking highly of Jarrett Allen, Darius Garland, and Kevin Honey, per The Athletic.

So, no, James didn't say he's 100% leaving LA and going dorsum to Cleveland. Only he left room for it to happen open.

Even so, is it a expert idea for the Cavs?

Why the Cavs should remember twice before bringing LeBron back

The Cavs have an incredible team correct now. They have ii All-Stars in betoken guard Darius Garland and middle Jarrett Allen. Evan Mobley is also the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award, and they recently added Caris LeVert, who can score 40 points on any given night, via trade.

That's non to mention their collection of function players in Kevin Dearest, Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro, Rajon Rondo, and others.

This talent has catapulted them from the bottom of the Eastern Briefing to a top-iv seed. They are already contenders to attain the NBA Finals out of the East without James, and adding him would hands make them the favorites to win the whole thing.

Just despite LeBron existence i of the tiptop 2 players to e'er play the game, the thought of signing him in free agency should give the Cavs hesitation.

They accept had all their success this year because of their team chemistry. Love called them the "biggest 'share the wealth' team in the NBA," and information technology seems that all their stars genuinely want each other succeed. They don't care about stats; they just want to win.

James would throw a wrench in that. He's a ball-dominant role player, and offenses typically run through him. The Cavs' free-flowing style would get stagnant.

Cleveland is too excellent defensively, leading the league in points allowed per game. James, though, is declining on defense and could fifty-fifty become a liability on that end of the court.

The other upshot is what the squad would wait like once he inevitably leaves once more. He has left bare cupboards in Cleveland twice, and the Cavs had to spend the following years rebuilding. The franchise is ready upward for future success correct now, but what if a young star grows tired of LeBron like Kyrie did and demands a trade? Practice the Cavaliers want to risk their future for a few years with what will be a 38-year-old James?

That's the major question they must consider earlier even thinking about signing their hometown kid again.

Can LeBron James realistically return to the Cavs?

Whether yous think the Cavs should sign LeBron James over again or not, nosotros first must consider whether it's even possible.

And it absolutely is.

Caris LeVert and Kevin Love become gratuitous agents in 2023, and so Cleveland will have a max contract spot (or something close to that) available that summer.

Just will the organization want to part ways with LeVert if he plays a crucial role in its success the adjacent ii years? Information technology could exist hard to say goodbye to someone who is non but x years younger than LeBron only who has besides built chemistry with the team's current roster.

There's besides the fact that James said he is playing his last NBA season with his son, Bronny. That means that if the Cavs don't draft Bronny, they could only have the elder James for a year before his son potentially enters the league in 2024.

All in all, at that place are numerous factors the Cavs and LeBron must consider before even thinking virtually reuniting. But his six-word message has fix an entertaining ride until his costless agency in 2023.

Stats courtesy of Basketball game Reference

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