Everyone is waiting for LeBron James to make a decision on where he’ll finish his NBA career, though the consensus around the basketball world is leaning toward a return home to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
So what’s the hold-up? Nobody truly knows when James will announce his next team, but analyst Nick Wright has a theory: He could be waiting for the Cavaliers to find a way to move on from James Harden and, in turn, bring back Kyrie Irving.
“How can we turn James Harden into Kyrie Irving? That’s what the Cleveland Cavaliers should be trying to do. I think LeBron is going to go with the Cavs. The hang-up right now, I would imagine, is the fit alongside James Harden. It would be kind of a perfect ending, and it would give LeBron and Kyrie the finish they never got that Kyrie has since said he regretted. They would be such a dynamic offense that team obviously could win the Eastern Conference,”
The 41-year-old James is, of course, a UFA after playing out the two-year, $101.35 million contract extension he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024. Irving, 34, meanwhile, has two years remaining on the three-year, $119 million contract extension he signed with the Dallas Mavericks in 2025.
James and Irving together again in Cleveland would be special, and those two, along with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen, would absolutely form one of — if not the — favorites in the Eastern Conference, as Wright mentioned.
It wouldn’t be easy for the Cavaliers to pull off, but when the possibility of landing LeBron could hinge on making such a move, you have to explore every avenue in order to make it happen.
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