It seems every year heading into the offseason at the end of LeBron James’ contract, the biggest talk around town is centers around where he will go next. Although he has been criticized throughout his career for changing teams, he has stayed loyal to his hometown of Cleveland by returning home and bringing an NBA title in 2016.
LeBron’s first 7 years in the league were spent in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform, before making the infamous "Decision" and taking his talent to South Beach to join the Miami Heat. This decision came with much scrutiny, as LeBron went on to win his first and second NBA championship.
Respect from most fans and media around the world was regained when, after the 2013-14 season, the "King" returned to The Land to attempt to bring a championship to his hometown. He accomplished that feat in 2016, but was unable to do it again the year after in 2017 when faced with an even tougher challenge. As we look toward the 2018 Finals, the Cavs don’t look in great shape to compete again, and many have speculated that LeBron would be parting ways with the franchise very soon. But, has a few recent trades completely changed that, and will LeBron stay in Cleveland? A large number of NBA players had their say.
Staying at home?
Until very recently, it didn’t seem like LeBron was too comfortable playing for a team that was struggling to win games against top level or even average teams around the league.
After losing all-star Kyrie Irving in the offseason and replacing him with superstar Isaiah Thomas and quality role player Jae Crowder, it seemed like the Cavaliers were still in prime positon to return to the Finals this season, and some argued that they had even improved their team. But once Thomas returned, the Cavs were playing poor basketball, losing game after game.
The Cavs pulled the plug and made a few huge trades, getting rid of veterans, role players and former all-star players, including Isaiah Thomas, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and Jae Crowder and replacing them with young talent, including Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and reliable vet George Hill.
This roster overhaul has the Cavaliers playing great basketball once again, and has a large number of NBA players believing it’s the reason the King will stay in Cleveland.
The poll
The question of where James would end up was posed to 48 unnamed professional NBA players, with 59 percent predicting that King James will stay in Cleveland in the 2018 offseason. However, receiving a fair number of votes was the Los Angeles Lakers who have 22 percent of the vote, followed by a possible return to the Miami Heat at 7 percent.
Here are the results of the poll:
Cavaliers – 28 votes (59%) Lakers – 11 votes (22%) Heat – 3 votes (7%) Other – 6 votes (12%)
