LeBron James departure rumors quickly shut down
By Joe Schiller
Reports that LeBron James is leaving the Cavaliers next offseason have been quickly shut down.
This year has been one to forget for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The last thing they need is more drama, right? Well that didn’t stop today.
After NBA reporter Chris Sheridan reported this afternoon that James is ‘100% leaving’ the Cavaliers next offseason, those rumors were quickly shot down. No less than 40 minutes later, Cleveland.com reporter Joe Vardon tweeted out this:
For what it's worth (damn it, I'm on vacation), three sources close to LeBron said this latest tweet about him is 100 percent false
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 16, 2017
But of course, it didn’t stop there.
I have more: three sources paid particular attention to LeBron's relationship with ownership, and said LeBron does not view it that way
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 16, 2017
And finally, one of the sources close to LeBron said there is no NBA source who could speak on his behalf in the way it was reported
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) August 16, 2017
With a player option after this season, the original rumors shouldn’t be surprising. And with the strong possibility of Kyrie Irving being traded, many wouldn’t blame James for wanting out. He came back to Cleveland and won a NBA championship, just like he said he was going to do. At 32, he still has plenty of good basketball years left in him.
This sounds like this a classic case of he said, she said. It’s hard not to believe the people close to Lebron, but the word “sources” can be ambiguous at times.
This certainly fits right in to the type of offseason the Cavaliers have had so far, and it’s not been a good one.
While other teams have gone out and improved their squads, the Cavaliers have been stuck in limbo. So far it’s brought the departure of David Griffin, Kyrie trade rumors and the signings of José Calderon and Derrick Rose. I’m not a NBA expert, but that isn’t what it’s going to take to beat the Warriors this season.
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This back-and-forth saga with James is something that won’t end until we hear something out of his mouth. For now, we are just left guessing with the reports that we hear. Cavs fans can stay optimistic for now, but things can quickly change come the NBA season.