When LeBron James made The Decision Part II and announced his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the expectation was that he’d be there for the long haul. But Stephen A. Smith isn’t so sure LeBron won’t ditch the Cavs for a second time.
During a recent appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Jorge & Izzy,” the ESPN analyst cited sources in expressing his belief that the 31-year-old James isn’t locked in to playing out the rest of his career in Cleveland.
“What everybody who’s close to him continuously reminds me of is: ‘Don’t you dare take LeBron for granted or think he’s trapped into staying in Cleveland just because he came back,'” Smith said, via The Big Lead. “‘Don’t put it past him that he’ll get so annoyed that he’ll leave again if he feels like he’s being taken for granted, ran into the ground and, essentially, misused.'”
The Cavs are the No. 1 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference but fired coach David Blatt halfway through the season. James stoked rumor fire earlier this week by working out with former Heat teammate Dwyane Wade in Miami and also has sent out a few cryptic tweets in recent days, the latest of which came less than two hours before Saturday’s game against the Boston Celtics.
Smith went on ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday and admitted he doesn’t think James is going anywhere until the Cavs win a title. But he did add this caveat:
“I will tell you this: LeBron never once promised to retire a Cleveland Cavalier,” Smith said, via For the Win. “His mission is to come back and deliver a championship to the city of Cleveland. I don’t see him departing before that happens unless he believes there’s no hope or something else happens with (owner) Dan Gilbert.”
Thumbnail photo via John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports Images
