Their have been plenty of rumors and speculations surrounding LeBron James and a possible reunion with his home town and original club, the Cleveland Cavaliers, as he enters this free agent season with the power to exercise an early termination option with the Heat. James was drafted No.1 overall pick by the Cavs and played for seven seasons with the franchise.
Now, although its more likely that LeBron will resign with the Heat, the Cavaliers have a real shot at acquiring the "The King" back this coming summer of the 2014 NBA free agency, at least that's what Bovada suggests. The gambling website gives Cleveland the second-best chance - with a 7/2 odds - of landing LeBron behind Miami. Here is a complete view of all the odds:
Miami Heat: 1/3
Cleveland Cavaliers: 7/2
Chicago Bulls: 13/2
Houston Rockets: 13/2
Los Angeles Lakers: 15/1
But if you look at it closely, Cleveland does have a real shot at bringing back LeBron James. The reason why James bolted out of Cleveland 4 years ago was because the team lacked the roster to help him win championships.This time around, though, Cleveland is loaded with young talent with a star of their own in Kyrie Irving. They also have the No. 1 pick in a draft class that has the likes of Joel Embiid, Andrew WIggins, and Jabari Parker. So if its help that LeBron needs, he can clearly have it in Cleveland.
On top of that, Cleveland has plenty of salary-cap flexibility and has the position to bring in several key free agents this off-season with a lot of cheap rookie-scale contracts in their roster that can be used as valuable trade chips. If they can bring in a border-line all star to Cleveland along with playoff tested veterans, it would surely make things more appealing for LeBron.
With that being said, Cleveland is in the position to become so much better in the off-season and make a serious run at James.
James is also 29 years old with a decade of NBA mileage on his body and it would make sense if he considers teaming up with fresher legs. Cleveland's collection of young star power stands in contrast to a Miami Heat roster filled with aging stars who are way past their prime.
LeBron knows that Wade is on the decline and Bosh has yet to prove that he can become a capable second option especially in the playoffs so this might be reason enough for him to pull the trigger in reuniting with his home town fans.
If Cleveland makes a real offer to LeBron and if both parties are ready to move on from the past and leave the bitterness behind, then there is a chance that we may be seeing LeBron in a Cleveland jersey for the second time around this coming summer of the 2014 NBA Free Agency, leading the young and gifted Cavalier squad for a shot at an NBA title.
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