Everyone is waiting for LeBron James to hit free agency and decide whether to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers or join another team. That decision could come down to what will be his biggest priority for next season, which could be the final season of his storied NBA career.
Days ago on ESPN’s “Get Up,” Hall of Famer and “Inside the NBA” personality Charles Barkley said it won’t do James any good to stay with the Lakers because, in his mind, the Lakers “are not going to be competitive” in the Western Conference. He also said that there is only one choice that makes sense for James: going back to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“LeBron only has one play in my opinion, and that’s to go back to Cleveland,” Barkley said. “That’s his only smart, logical choice. Go back and finish his career with the Cavs.”
There has been plenty of noise about the possibility of James heading back to the Cavaliers, the team he started his career and played a total of 11 seasons with. Cleveland made it to the Eastern Conference finals this season, where it got swept by the scorching New York Knicks, but it has built a fairly impressive roster, and some feel adding James to that roster would put it over the top.
Recently, the Golden State Warriors have also emerged as a team that could end up winning James’ services. According to one insider, Stephen Curry was planning a meeting with James to discuss the possibility of teaming up.
However, the absolute most either the Cavs or Warriors will be able to offer James in free agency without executing a sign-and-trade deal is the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of roughly $15 million. The Lakers, on the other hand, are projected to have roughly $50 million in salary cap space this summer.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Charles Barkley: Only ‘smart, logical choice’ for LeBron is Cavaliers
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire | USA TODAY Network
