Home loyalty could push LeBron to stay with Cavs
Associated Press
LeBron James sprung to his feet and screamed along with thousands of delirious Cleveland fans.
When Indians outfielder Rajai Davis connected off Chicago Cubs reliever Aroldis Chapman for a tying home run in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, James came unglued and reacted the way he might after a monstrous dunk or back-breaking 3-pointer in the NBA Finals.
And while his fanatical response said a lot about James and his allegiance to the Indians, so did the tight, black T-shirt he wore on that unseasonably warm November night.
It said: "Cleveland Or Nowhere." As the sports world waits to see where the three-time champion intends to play next season and beyond, there remains the real possibility that James could choose to stay in Cleveland, his hoops home for 11 of the past 15 years and where this Northeast Ohio son shares a unique and profound connection with fans who have followed him since his teens.
James has other options: Los Angeles (salary-cap space for another star, Magic Johnson in charge), Houston (a chance to play on a super team with MVP James Harden), Philadelphia (young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid), and maybe more. But, as has always been the case for James, home will pull at his heart. For the longest time, the perception was that once James ended Cleveland's 52-year title drought in 2016, he would leave again as soon as he could. That doesn't seem to be a slam dunk any longer.
By Friday, James is expected to make his first move and likely decline a $35.6 million contract option for next season with the Cavs, who are hoping their past loyalties to the 33-year-old and his own sentimental attachments — family, legacy — will keep him in Cleveland.
Unlike his free-agency forays in 2010 and 2014, James will not meet with prospective teams. He's letting agent Rich Paul and his other representatives handle the business side of things as he vacations with family and makes up his mind. Months ago, James' connection with the Cavs seemed broken, hopeless. But a funny thing happened on the way to the NBA Finals.
James was boosted by general manager Koby Altman's drastic-and-dramatic roster overhaul at the trading deadline, and despite a lack of cohesion and Vegas odds makers labeling the Cavs as underdogs, Cleveland advanced to a fourth straight summer showdown with Golden State, surviving two Game 7s and sweeping the topseeded Toronto Raptors along the way.