Last summer, LeBron James announced he was “coming home.” He signed a two-year deal with a player option after the first year. The main reason for the short deal was to take advantage of the salary cap spike coming up in 2016.
According to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, James is going to decline his player option to “wait-and-see” what the Cavaliers front office does with the roster this season.
Lebron James Declines Player Option
James is at the peak of his career — he is 30 years old — and undoubtedly wants to make sure the team is going to shape the roster to compete sooner rather than later. Cleveland has some issues to deal with pertaining its own players; Kevin Love’s situation is blurry at best, Tristan Thompson might command max money, and veteran shooters Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith aren’t on the books for next season. It makes perfect sense for James to sit back and see what’s going to happen.
Haynes would later note that the chances of James actually leaving are “slim.” Haynes stated:
James will take a wait-and-see approach while the Cavaliers tend to their housekeeping matters, league sources told Northeast Ohio Media Group.
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The belief is James wants to observe how management goes about retaining and accumulating assets (to) keep the organization in win-now mode and improve the roster.The chance of James bolting the city of Cleveland for a second time is slim, but his approach will allow him to assess the Cavaliers’ moves before re-signing. It also applies pressure on the organization to do whatever is necessary to strengthen the team.
The ball is now in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office to figure out what direction the roster is going to take next season and to determine if coach David Blatt will return.
Main Photo: Lebron James via Getty Images/NBA
