NBA Rumors: Expect LeBron James to opt out of Cleveland Cavaliers contract

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost the NBA Finals and it’s now time for LeBron James to let Dan Gilbert twist in the wind the way he deserves.

Next: Toughest NBA Teams Of All-Time

When LeBron James came back to the Cleveland Cavaliers this past summer, the largest surprise came in the form of Dan Gilbert being one of the reasons he was coming back. Of course, he wasn’t the reason that LeBron James came back to Cleveland — in fact he was the reason he left in the first place.

There was no chummy moments between Gilbert and LeBron when he returned and the two will not be vacationing together this summer. Instead, LeBron James is going to get his final act of revenge on Dan Gilbert for running him off in the first place. How do you get revenge on your employer while not jeopardizing your job or the standing of the franchise?

If you’re LeBron James, you opt out of your contract.

Dan Gilbert may own the Cavaliers…LeBron James run them and he won’t opt back in until everyone fully acknowledges that

LeBron James returned to Cleveland on a one-year deal, with logic telling us that he’d continue to opt in on one-year deals until the NBA salary cap rose thanks to the new TV deal in 2016-17. But there’s more than just money for LeBron James in opting into one year deals — there’s immense power in doing so as well.

LeBron James is not an aggressive player in trying to get what he wants, as he’s far more passive than that. The most passive way to tell the Cavaliers you’re pissed off that you don’t have more power is to opt out of your contract. There’s no incentive at all for LeBron James to opt into a second year with the Cavaliers until the very last second he can do so. The best route for LeBron James is to opt out of the deal hit the open market and make Dan Gilbert sweat.

Pat Riley gambled and lost last summer, that was a masterstroke tactic move by LeBron James; a preemptive strike against Dan Gilbert this summer. If Pat Riley can lose, who the hell is Dan Gilbert to try and play hardball with LeBron James? Riley didn’t even play hardball, he gave LeBron James what he wanted and it still wasn’t good enough.

If David Blatt gets zero credit for the Cavaliers success, Dan Gilbert gets even less. He signs checks for LeBron James and his friends — that’s it.

That’s a message to Dan Gilbert this summer. LeBron James is the best player on the planet and he wants the power that entails as well. If LeBron James opts out, he has all the power in the world and Cleveland has to give him everything he wants. LeBron James is basically Robert De Niro in Goodfellas in that he can get whatever he wants if he opts out.

Don’t want David Blatt as the head coach, he’s gone. Don’t want Kevin Love taking up money that can pay Tristan Thompson, Dwyane Wade, LaMarcus Aldridge or anyone else, it’s done.

Short of forcing Dan Gilbert to sell the franchise, LeBron James can force Cleveland to whatever he wants and give him as much power as he wants. Most importantly, it puts Dan Gilbert in check and smacks him back to reality. If David Blatt gets zero credit for the Cavaliers success, Dan Gilbert gets even less. He signs checks for LeBron James and his friends — that’s it.

We saw what Dan Gilbert running a franchise looks like in the 2000s and we really saw what a Dan Gilbert franchise looks like once LeBron James left. Even now that LeBron James is back, the one thing working against him is the vortex of suck that exists wherever Dan Gilbert walks.

That’s why LeBron James is going to opt out of his contract.

It may be a franchise that Dan Gilbert owns, but the Cleveland Cavaliers are run by LeBron James and he won’t opt back in until everyone there fully acknowledges that.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers