Lebron James is the most powerful man in the NBA. I might even go as far as to say he carries more clout than commissioner Adam Silver, although Bron is respectful enough to never say that. Bron is in full flex mode now as reports say he will not pick up his player option for next year and opt out, but not necessarily with the thought of leaving the Cavs again. It’s more so about him seeing what the Cavs do to keep a title contending team in tact.
Update…
It has been speculated since the end of this year’s NBA Finals that LeBron would not opt into his contract with the Cavs. Today, reports say that he will officially opt out of his player option with Cavs, in which he would have made $21.5 million, and will be a free agent on July 1st.
Reports do indicate that he plans to re-sign with the Cavs–however nothing is set in stone about his return–and this comes after news about Kevin Love reportedly telling the Cavs that he will return to the team next year. It is not too surprising that LeBron opted out of his contract as he seems to want to maintain control over his future in the league and opting out definitely ensures that!
Source: ESPN
Original Post…
@IamJoeSports
The contract situations of Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and to a certain degree Brendan Haywood are expected to be resolved before the Cleveland Cavaliers re-sign the world’s most dominant player.
James will take a wait-and-see approach while the Cavaliers tend to their housekeeping matters, league sources told Northeast Ohio Media Group.
The four-time MVP has a player option deadline of Monday, and he will decline to pick up that deal for next season.
The belief is James wants to observe how management goes about retaining and accumulating assets keep the organization in win-now mode and improve the roster.
The chance of James bolting the city of Cleveland for a second time is slim, but his approach will allow him to assess the Cavaliers’ moves before re-signing. It also applies pressure on the organization to do whatever is necessary to strengthen the team.
For James and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, it’s a forward-thinking business tactic. There’s no telling how many prime years James has left, and the impression is that he wants to ensure he’s surrounded by a championship-caliber cast.
It’s actually a pretty smart way of going about things. We know he likely would never walk away from the Cavs again but by him opting out it puts pressure on the Cavs to make sure they keep Bron happy so he will re-sign.
