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The Cavaliers are no stranger to drama, and that continued Tuesday morning with a new report that LeBron James would consider leaving Cleveland this summer.
From Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group:
There is immense pressure to keep The King happy.
James, who turns 30 today, has no intention of compromising his prime years playing for a sputtering organization. He can opt out of his contract at the end of the season and become a free agent.
Given the massive scrutiny he would endure if he departed Cleveland a second time, if his hand is forced, I'm told he won't hesitate to make the appropriate business decision if it means bolting.
But if James and his teammates want the current situation to improve, that means they have some self-reflecting to do.
Haynes has had an exclusive interview with Rich Paul and has a good relationship with LeBron James. This stuff isn't coming out of thin air. James clearly has a lot of influence within the organization and is intent on exercising it. There's almost no foreseeable way that LeBron could leave Cleveland have it be the right business decision. He might already have some doubts about his return to Cleveland, but he was the one who wrote the letter indicating things would take time. It seems to me he wrote that letter even with the knowledge that Kevin Love was likely coming aboard.
The Cavs are 18-12, have been dealing with injuries big and small to Anderson Varejao and Kyrie Irving. LeBron has been banged up. Dion Waiters is heating up just in time for Matthew Dellavedova to struggle. I'd really be content to be patient and let the team fight through this. Add a small piece to help keep Tristan Thompson from having to play 40 minutes a night. But the Cavs seem intent on making things a bit worse than I'd like to believe they are. Is this a power move by LeBron to try and force out David Blatt? I don't know. That would be worrisome.
We will see where this goes.